


Not Like You

by HylianHarmony



Series: Linked Universe Fics [7]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Epona is best horse, Family, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe a little worse than canon?, Mentions of Blood, Wind-centric, dislocation, idk I'm an awful judge of these things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26087878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianHarmony/pseuds/HylianHarmony
Summary: Wind isn't like the others. He lives on the Great Sea, not Hyrule. He's never seen a horse, much less ridden one. Then again, Sky hasn't either, but Sky has a Loftwing and that's practically the same thing. The more time Wind spends with the Links, the more his differences slap him in the face. Is he truly a hero, or is he just a kid playing pretend?-Based off of Jojo56830's LU AU-
Series: Linked Universe Fics [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1344637
Comments: 72
Kudos: 308





	1. What's a Horse?

**Author's Note:**

> If you are not reading "Colors" go ahead and skip this note. If you are, then I'm sure you're wondering why the story hasn't been updated in so long. There are a few reasons but the main one is: I need a break. It pains me to say it. I don't want to say it. But at this point, I don't have a choice. "Colors" demands so much more of me than I can give at the moment. Therefore, I need to put the story on hold.
> 
> Be that as it may, I am not abandoning "Colors". I love Four and the story to pieces. I want to see it play out just as much as you do. I will continue it. However, I can't say for certain when that will be, and I'm so so so sorry for that. Please, have a little more patience with me. I am doing my best.
> 
> In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this new Wind-centric story even though it's not what you were expecting.
> 
> ~Hylian Harmony

Traveling through a kingdom that had sunk to the bottom of the sea centuries ago meant Wind could never be bored. The rolling green fields and stretches of forest alone were more than enough to fascinate him. Include the plethora of never-before-seen animals and fauna, and Wind's eyes nearly popped out of his skull trying to take it all in.

Sky was in a similar state, exclaiming with Wind over plants and creatures the other Links deemed common and uninteresting. However, where Wind grew excited at a glimpse of what the others called a squirrel, Sky simply smiled knowingly. While true Sky had grown up sheltered, it was also true he had been on the surface before. This wasn't his first time seeing all the wildlife Hyrule had to offer.

Nonetheless, when they landed in Twilight's Hyrule to find a massive four-legged creature barreling towards them, both Wind and Sky reached for their swords. Not all animals were friendly. This fact especially applied to big animals, in Wind's limited experience, and the creature before him certainly fell into the big-bad category.

The behemoth boasted a long face, sinewy copper-brown muscle, and strong legs, which it raised into the air to pummel some invisible foe. Definitely dangerous. There was no doubt in Wind's mind that that this creature was powerful and knew it. Its body language was more than just a threat to do harm. It was a promise.

Wind hopped back and drew his sword. Going down without a fight wasn't his style.

"What are you doing?" Legend's question snapped Wind's attention to the blue-capped hero. One hand rested casually on his hip while the other relaxed at his side, painfully bare of a weapon.

"What are _you_ doing?!" Wind retorted. At this rate Legend would get himself killed! Could he not see the situation was dangerous? Maybe he couldn't, because he was looking at Wind like he'd grown two heads and not at the monster that was clearly about to trample them all.

Speaking of their impending doom, Wind had taken his eyes off it. That was a mistake if he'd ever made one. Nothing, however, could compare to Twi's slip-up.

The fur-wearing hero had pocketed the strange whistle he'd blown into just minutes before and stepped _forward_ , resting his head against the beast's. Wind could practically see the mouth opening, large teeth sinking into the rancher's skull and ripping. " _Twiiii!_ Don't do that!"

Twilight, with no hint of nerves or fear of getting his head torn off, laughed.

He _laughed_.

Wind bristled and pressed closer to Sky. Twilight had snapped.

"You two need to chill," Legend drawled. "It's just a horse."

"What's a horse?" Wind demanded, voice high with distrust. The word wasn't completely foreign on his tongue. There was an island at home called Horseshoe Isle, but that didn't really help since he didn't know what a horseshoe was. The island itself offered no hints either, being a weird hodgepodge of holes in the ground, deku nuts, and thorny vines.

Legend flung an arm out to present the massive creature just yards away. "That's a horse."

"That's not helpful," Sky pointed out with a frown, trepidation coloring his own tone.

The veteran rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't know how to explain a horse to you because everyone knows what a horse is." He sneered. "Except you two, apparently."

Sure enough, when Wind looked around, he found the rest of the group unconcerned. In fact, many of them had already gathered around Twi and the horse.

"Come on. And put those away, you're going to spook it," Legend said, nodding to the swords Wind and Sky were clutching like lifelines as he strolled past.

"Her," Twilight corrected, glancing back at them. "And she doesn't spook that easily. But Legend is right; you don't need those. She won't hurt you."

"Are you sure?" Wind couldn't help asking.

"Positive. Come 'ere. I'll introduce you."

Wind shared an uncertain look with Sky.

"What _is_ a horse?" Wind wasn't budging until he knew for sure the creature Twilight wanted them to approach wasn't dangerous.

"They're…uh—" Twi frowned in thought.

"Horses are animals commonly used for transporting people and goods from place to place," Four spoke up.

"Exactly, yes. That's they're technical purpose, but they can also be a friend. Like Epona is to me." Twilight nuzzled the horse's long face. "Aren't you, girl?"

She replied by tossing her head and making strange whickering sounds.

Sky brightened. "So horses are like Loftwings!"

This time, Wind wasn't among the select few that looked at Sky funny. No one knew what a Loftwing was.

Fortunately, Sky was more than happy to explain. "Loftwings are giant birds we ride around the skies to get from island to island. Everyone on Skyloft has one. They're like our soul mates, our other halves. They live and die with us."

"I guess they're similar?" Twilight mused, rubbing Epona's side.

That was all Sky needed to hear to abandon Wind for a closer look.

"Not everyone has a horse, though," Twilight continued. "And the bonds aren't so drastic."

"I don't know that the bond isn't similar to the one Sky described," Time said as Twilight showed Sky where Epona liked to be petted. "At least when it comes to Epona."

"Why do you say that?" Twi wondered.

"Because I also have a mare named Epona. She's practically the spitting image of your girl here." So saying, Time gave the horse an affectionate pat.

"Now that you mention it, she looks a lot like my Epona too," Warrior spoke up, hand cupping his chin.

"I know a horse named Epona," Four added. "She's not mine, though."

"Does everyone have an Epona in their eras?" Twilight swept his gaze over the group, incredulous.

"I do," Wild reported. "She's my best horse."

Legend shrugged. "Maybe. I borrowed a horse once or twice for travel. She was more brown-toned though. 'Rule?"

Hyrule shook his head. "Not really? I've seen some horses, but I can't say for sure if any of them were her or not."

"What about you, Sailor?" Warrior asked, turning everyone's attention to where Wind was standing tensely with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, you have some giant lady fish you ride around the ocean on?" Legend teased.

Wind pouted. "No, that'd be stupid." And rude. The only fish at home capable of being ridden was Jabun, and he didn't need his grandmother to tell him that hitching a ride on a deity's back would be impolite.

"I have a boat." Not that he used it anymore. The King of Red Lions was retired after his first adventure. Nothing was structurally wrong with it. The little red boat could sail the seas just fine if Wind mustered enough courage to take it out of storage—which would never happen. The vessel felt incomplete, damaged in some way without the soul that had once inhabited it. He couldn't bear to sail it.

Sky offered him a sunny smile. "That's neat."

Somehow, it didn't feel like it was.

"So Epona could be tied to the hero's spirit," Four theorized. "It can't be a coincidence that most of us have her in our Hyrules."

"My thoughts exactly," Time agreed.

"Wind, come get acquainted," Twi invited, motioning him over. "She doesn't bite, I promise."

"She's sweet!" Sky encouraged.

The island boy rocked back and forth on his heels, debating. Wind _was_ curious. Even if he did feel a bit put out for not having an animal like Epona at home. Then again, maybe he did.

Did Link the Pig count? He had never tried to ride him, but maybe it was possible. Maybe. Provided he didn't poke him in the wrong spot and make him mad. That had happened once. It hadn't been pretty.

If he stroked Epona wrong, would she go on a rampage? There was no water around to cool her off in that case. But the others had been petting her for a while, and no one had been mauled…yet.

In the end, curiosity won out, and Wind bounded over.

She was much more intimidating up close. He hadn't realized just how large the animal was until he was standing directly in front of her. She snuffed in his direction, and Wind flinched.

"It's okay," Twilight reassured him, catching his hand before Wind could make a hasty retreat. "She's just saying hello."

It looked a lot like "get lost" to him.

"Here, I'll show you how to pet her. Lay your hand flat." Wind obeyed and Twilight gently guided his open palm to meet Epona's forehead. The texture of her fur was not at all what he'd been expecting. As muscular as she looked, she didn't feel it. That wasn't to say she was fluffy, but she did have fur. It was rather silky and smooth, not rough in any way as he stroked his hand down her bowed head.

Slowly, the tension began to uncoil from his shoulders.

"See? She's nice," Twi said as Wind continued to gingerly pet Epona.

He nodded, a smile pulling at his lips. Epona seemed to be enjoying all the attention he was giving her. She didn't toss her head or anything.

"The hair on her neck feels different," Sky gasped in awe, drawing Wind alongside the horse to feel for himself. Sure enough, his fingers brushed through hair that felt surprisingly human.

"That's her mane," Time informed them, stepping up to run his own fingers through it. He hummed. "It's not so coarse. Softer than her tail, I'd bet."

Time caught Wind's arm before he could race past him to confirm the theory. "Don't pet her tail. Horses don't like that."

"Yeah, stay where she can see you," Twilight advised.

"Can I braid her mane?" Wild asked, eager fingers already tangled in the white hair sprouting from the horse's neck.

Twilight raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "What for?"

Wild shrugged. "To make her prettier."

"She's already beautiful," Twilight huffed, grabbing some ropes dangling from her muzzle and forcing her away from Wild—and in turn, Wind and Sky.

Warrior laughed. "Watch it, Wild. Don't insult his lady."

"Aww, Twi! I didn't say she wasn't beautiful! I just mean she'd look even prettier with some braids. It'll keep the hair out of her way when she runs. All my horses have braids…except my Epona. She won't let me."

"And probably for good reason!" Twilight shot back. "Don't try to use my horse to make up for the lack of bond you have with yours."

Wild made an affronted sound, hands grasping for words—or maybe Epona's mane? "Excuse you! Epona and I have a great bond! I feed her lots of apples."

Twilight eyed Wild knowingly over Epona's back. "She's probably fat."

"Is not!"

"Wait, horses eat fruit?" Wind interjected. Apples were fruits, right? Sometimes it was hard to keep track of all these new foods. They didn't have nearly as many on the Great Sea.

"Apples, hay, carrots. Yeah. They're herbivores," Twi explained, half-heartedly shooing away Wild who was sidling up beside Epona.

Legend elbowed Wind in the side, smirking. "Is that why you stayed away so long? Think Epona was going to eat you?"

" _No,_ " Wind objected hotly. He elbowed Legend back just as hard to cover up the fact that, yes, that's exactly what he had thought.

"So? Can I braid her mane, Twi?" Wild asked again.

"My Epona has some braids in her mane," Warrior spoke up when the ranch hand hesitated. "They are practical for battle."

"I don't have an interest in taking her into battle," Twi said, petting his horse with a frown.

"If she stays with us, you might not have a choice," Four said grimly. "Battles tend to find us whether we want them or not. Can she handle it?"

"She can…wait," Twilight perked up, eyes shining with possibility. "Do you think she can come with us? The portals won't stop her?"

"If the postman can pass through them, I don't see why a horse can't," Time reasoned as Four nodded sagely along.

Twilight approached Epona's front, a goofy grin plastered on his face. He cradled her cheeks. "Hear that, girl? You can come with us."

Once again, Epona whinnied, nodding her head up and down as if to say, "Yes, I did hear that."

"Is that smart?" 'Rule shrunk back meekly when all eyes turned on him. "Well, I mean…nothing against Epona, but aren't horses a lot of work?"

"I'll take care of her; don't worry. She can help carry our stuff too, and she'll be good for scouting ahead."

"Twi?" Wild pleaded, tone hopeful.

Twilight sighed. "You can braid her mane if she'll let you."

Permission granted, Wild swiftly buried his hands in Epona's mane. He'd hardly managed to separate a section into three strands before Epona pulled away.

The Hero of Time chuckled. "Guess that's a no."

"Come on, Epona," Wild cooed, straining to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Work with me here."

The horse refused, skipping away or tossing her head every time Wild tried to plait her hair, much to the amusement of everyone present.

Finally, Twi grabbed the ropes dangling freely from her face. "That's enough. Stop harassing her. She obviously doesn't want your grimy fingers touching her mane."

Epona blew another one of her strange sounds from her lips in confirmation.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Wild unclipped the Sheikah Slate from his hip and swiped at its surface. An apple materialized in wisps of neon blue, and he held the shiny red morsel under her nose. "Here, girl."

For a moment, Wind thought Wild's hand had been engulfed by the horse's mouth, but when she pulled away, only the apple was missing. Wild summoned two more apples from his slate.

"Hey, now. Don't overfeed her," Twi interjected.

"I'm not." Wild assured him. He turned to Wind and Sky. "You two want to feed her?"

"Yes!" Wind exclaimed, eagerly bouncing on his toes.

"Can we?" Sky wondered, hopeful gaze meeting Twi's for permission.

Twilight consented with a dip of his head. "You can—but only you two! I don't want her getting fat."

"Like Wild's Epona?" Warrior quipped with a smirk.

"Like Wild's Epona," Twilight confirmed.

Wild rolled his eyes to the heavens as he dumped an apple in each of their hands. "For the last time, she isn't fat!"

"Whatever you say, cub." Twilight teased.

Wild maturely retorted by sticking out his tongue.

"Is there a specific way to…?" Sky trailed off, gesturing to Epona with his apple.

"Yes, hold your palm flat, like this." Twilight demonstrated with his own hand, and Sky mimicked him.

Wind waited off to the side, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he watched Sky attempt to feed the large animal. The apple rolled out of his palm on the first try, but Sky wasn't deterred. He picked it up, and with some more instruction from Twi, tried again. This time, Epona grabbed the apple from the Skyloftian's hand, pulverizing it with her large, stone-like teeth.

The Chosen Hero beamed, petting the animal's nose as she ate. "She's so gentle." Wind begged to differ. The way she was crushing the treat Sky had given her looked violent at best.

He glanced at the apple in his hand. It was the size of his palm, which left his fingers exposed. He wiggled them, recalling what Twilight had said about Epona's diet. His fingers looked a lot like baby carrots.

"Wind." He started at his nickname. "Your turn."

He shook his head, clutching the crimson morsel close. "I don't want to anymore."

"Why not?" Twi wondered, surprised.

"She'll bite me."

The ranch hand's expression softened. "She won't bite you, kid."

"Yeah! She didn't bite me," Sky chirped, waving his intact hands as proof. That didn't mean anything. Sky didn't have baby carrot fingers.

"I'll make sure she doesn't nip you," Twilight said, stretching out a hand in his direction.

Wind scrunched up his nose, eyeing Epona uncertainly. His eyes flicked to Twilight. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Cautiously, Wind crept closer. Epona must have smelled the treat he held, for she snuffed at his hand, hot air brushing his skin. Wind immediately recoiled, dropping the apple. She couldn't mislabel him as food if he wasn't holding food, right?

Unfortunately, Twilight bent down and plucked the fallen apple from the ground, returning it to his hand.

"It's okay. Hold it like this…" Twi straightened Wind's hand so the crimson fruit was positioned precariously atop his open palm. "Keep your fingers flat, too." Wind complied, but when Twilight guided his hand under Epona's mouth, he bailed, jerking the treat out of the horse's reach.

She huffed at the tease.

"Try again," Twilight encouraged him.

"She'll bite my fingers."

"Is that what you're worried about? Here." Twi eased his hand back into its previous relaxed position, then covered Wind's exposed fingers with his palm. "Now try."

Mindful of Wind's fear, Twilight allowed him full control, only moving when Wind moved. Heart pounding despite Twi's support, Wind offered Epona the apple.

To his surprise, her mouth did not engulf his hand. Only her velvety lips, prickly with tiny hairs, tickled his skin for a moment before retreating, tugging the apple—and only the apple—into her mouth.

A smile born of relief and ecstasy crept over Wind's face as he retracted his hand, all five fingers accounted for. Sky had been right. Epona was gentle.

Twilight clapped him on the back, grinning as well. "Good job."

Epona munched happily, sharing her owner's sentiment.

"Now we just need to teach you two how to ride, and you'll be pros," Warrior said.

"Speaking of, we should get going," Time mentioned. His gaze settled on Wind and Sky. "One of you can ride Epona for a bit, assuming that's okay with her owner." His eye flicked to Twilight.

"Of course it's okay. Who wants to go first?"

Wind's hand shot into the air without a hint of hesitation. "Me!" Then, the common courtesy his grandmother had ingrained into him dropped his arm back to his side. He cast a sheepish look at Sky. "As long as you don't mind?"

Sky shook his head, smile just as bright as before. "Go ahead. I went first for the other stuff."

With that, Twilight helped Wind mount Epona, pointing out where to put his feet and how to sit and also what those ropes were—reins—but he didn't have to worry about those because Twilight would be leading her. Sky paid close attention as well, taking mental notes for his turn.

Before long, they were off, Wind bouncing lightly in the saddle. The ride was bumpier than he expected but balance was no issue thanks to his seafaring skills. The best part, in Wind's opinion, was being so high off the ground. For once, he was tall, and that meant he could drink in all Twilight's Hyrule had to offer without having to crane his neck to see past the others.

The field was beautiful, all deep green grass and spotty puddles of water. A foggy castle stretched upward, tall and majestic, in the distance. Hyrule Castle, he was sure of it. Hopefully, they would get to visit. He wanted to know what the castle looked like when it still watched over a kingdom. Maybe he could take pictographs and show Tetra. That way they'd be able to build a replica of the original castle when they found a new land to call Hyrule.

"Enjoying yourself up there?" The captain's question jostled Wind out of his daydreams.

He peered down at Warrior. "Yup! I'm taller than you."

Warrior laughed. "Don't get used to it."

Grinning cheekily, Wind leaned over and mussed up the soldier's beloved golden locks.

"Not the hair!" Warrior screeched, slapping his hands away.

"You do it to me!" Wind shot back, straightening and sticking out his tongue. Technically, Twilight did it a lot too, but Wind would have to lean precariously over Epona's neck to reach him, and Wind didn't want to accidentally hurt the innocent horse. He'd get his revenge on Twi later.

"Fine, fine, fair enough," Warrior acquiesced, brushing his hair back into place. "But you should switch with Sky soon."

Wind wasn't selfish. Of course he was going to give Sky a turn, but he'd barely been riding Epona for ten minutes! Convinced it was just Warrior teasing him, Wind smirked. "Why? Can't stand me being taller than you?"

"That's definitely one reason." The captain declared with false conviction. He sobered quickly. "But the other is because you aren't used to riding. You're going to get sore fast. Trust me."

Wind didn't. He wasn't sore at all! In fact, he was inclined to call the captain a liar but stilled his tongue at the last second. Unlike Wind, Warrior _was_ familiar with horses and horse riding. He probably did know best.

Of course, that didn't mean Wind had to listen to him.

Only when Twilight and Time chimed in a while later with similar advice did Wind relent, allowing Twi to help him dismount.

Being on solid ground made him painfully aware of the fact that his thighs and backside were sore, just like the other heroes had predicted they'd be. Any longer atop Epona, and Wind's ability to walk normally would have been inhibited. Fortunately, it hadn't escalated to that point, and he could stroll alongside Epona and Sky without issue.

Sky enjoyed the ride just as much as Wind did, if not more, gushing about the similarities and differences between riding a Loftwing and riding a horse. Wind was content to listen and validate Sky's experiences with horse riding when asked. However, he did his best to steer clear of the Loftwing topic, so as not to disappoint Sky. Should they land in Skyloft one day, Wind was certain he wouldn't be able to befriend a giant bird like he had Epona, no matter how friendly it was.

* * *

The following week was a blur of battles and impromptu riding lessons from Twilight—and Time, when he felt up to it. It took all Wind had not to burst being taught by _the_ Hero of Time. The lessons were enjoyable, even if they left him groaning with soreness by the end. His favorite lessons involved learning how to canter and also how to keep Epona's coat glossy and her feet clean. He even learned what horseshoes were—funny-shaped metal molded to fit the bottom of a horse's hooves. They looked almost exactly like the isle they were named after. Funny, that.

Twi let him try his hand at the horse call once, explaining Epona's special song. To Wind, it sounded basically like magic which was hilarious since Twilight seemed to harbor a strong distaste for all things hocus-pocus. Wind's skills with Twilight's strange flute weren't up to par, but luckily for him, the wind sang just as sweetly, and Epona answered in kind.

When a portal did appear to whisk them to a new era, they discovered they could, to Twilight's delight, bring Epona along. Wind was happy, too. Even though he wasn't a fan of the saddle-soreness Twi's infrequent horseback-riding lessons brought, he had become a fan of Epona. She was sweet and smart and absolutely ruthless on the battlefield whenever Twilight deigned to let her participate.

Horses, Wind decided, were awesome, especially Epona.


	2. Wolfie

After becoming well-acquainted with Epona, large animals didn't frighten Wind. In fact, they seemed more scared of him than anything, but Wild insisted deer were always like that. Mostly because people hunted them for food. Wind thought it cruel, since the deer were so cute, like delicate horses with branches sprouting from their heads. What made them okay to eat and not horses? Both seemed plenty intelligent to him, but maybe intelligence wasn't the defining factor. Maybe it was just as simple as horse meat being gross.

For a time, Epona was the only massive animal that wouldn't flee at the sight of him, so when a large and furry four-legged creature trotted into camp one night, Wind leaped at the chance to befriend it.

"Wind, no!" A tug on his arm wrenched him to a halt.

He glanced back at Hyrule, annoyed. "What's the matter?"

"That's a wolf," the traveler hero said as if that explained everything. It probably would have, if Wind knew what a wolf was.

Noticing the confusion on his face, 'Rule explained. "Wolves are predators. They're dangerous."

"Unlike Epona, that thing will rip your face off," Legend added pleasantly, gesturing to the beast with his sword.

Sky, who had also stood at the animal's intrusion, heeded the veteran's warning and laid a cautious hand on his weapon.

"I've never seen a wolf that big before," Four commented. "Think it's infected?"

Warrior scoffed but didn't lower his sword. "Since when have animals been infected?"

Four shrugged. "There's a first time for everything."

"True," Time assented. "However, I doubt whatever is affecting the monsters is also affecting the wildlife."

Wind was inclined to agree. No matter how tense his companions were, the animal at the edge of camp hadn't made any move to harm them or even defend itself. It simply stood there, watching.

"Either way, we have a problem. Who wants to shoo it out? I call not it." Legend declared, lazily raising his sword skyward.

"No one has to shoo him out," Wild announced, stepping out of the darkened tree-line to stand beside the wolf. "He's with me."

"You tamed a _wolf_?" Legend demanded, incredulous.

"Well, I wouldn't say tamed but…" Catching on to the tension hanging in the air like a dark pall, Wild changed his mind. "Yeah, sure, we'll go with tamed. He's a friend." As if to prove it, Wild scratched the beast behind one of its pointed ears. The animal leaned into the touch, a blissful expression crossing its sharp features.

"Anyway, good news! I found some mushrooms for dinner," Wild said, strolling farther into camp. The wolf trailed a respectable distance behind.

"Where's Twilight?" Time asked.

That's right! Wild and Twilight had gone out to look for mushrooms together. They both should have come back.

"Your 'friend' didn't eat him, did he?" Warrior shot a distrustful look at the wolf.

"Dear Hylia, no!" Wild exclaimed. "Twilight's grabbing more firewood. He'll be back soon."

"What if he gets lost?" Sky worried.

"Twi has a good sense of direction," Wild said as he settled down by the dying fire. "He'll be fine."

"Yeah, he's not 'Rule," Legend quipped, elbowing Hyrule lightly in the side.

"It was _one_ time!"

As 'Rule and Legend bickered half-heartedly over how many times the traveler hero had gotten turned around, Wind eyed the wolf at Wild's side.

Now that he was closer, Wind could clearly see the animal's piercing blue eyes. They bored into his soul with an intelligence that made him uneasy. Wind shuddered, hastily shifting his attention elsewhere. Odd, rune-like markings swirled across the beast's forehead. They looked strangely familiar, but Wind couldn't recall where he'd seen them before.

What intrigued him most, however, was the wolf's fur. A mixture of dark grey and light, it stuck up at odd angles waiting to be smoothed down. Waiting to be _petted_. Wind was not going to deny it.

Taking advantage of Hyrule's distraction, Wind freed his wrist and crept closer to the wolf, plopping himself down on its other side. It spared him a glance but otherwise made no acknowledgement of his presence.

Slowly, so as not to spook the animal, Wind reached out and lightly rested his palm on its side. There was no protest. Allowing his hand to sink into the wolf's unbelievably soft fur, Wind grinned. He'd never felt anything like this before. The fur was softer than soft and thick enough for him to bury his whole hand in. He imagined it felt like a cloud, though he would have to double check with Sky on that. Even with the chill in the air, Wind wasn't cold. The wolf was warm enough to be a mini campfire of his own.

Seeking out all the warmth he could get, Wind wrapped his other arm around the wolf's back in a semi-hug, petting the animal enthusiastically.

"Uh…you'd better be careful," Wild said.

"Aww, but he seems so nice to people." The others didn't know what they were talking about. This wolf was just as sweet as Epona—and much more pleasant to pet.

Wind was only half listening as Wild continued. "You can pat him, but he really doesn't like—"

A sudden growl and sharp teeth bared in his face set Wind skittering back. "Ah! Don't bite!"

"See? He'll only take kisses from pretty girls," Wild crooned smugly.

"That's…really specific," Wind said in lieu of explaining himself. Kissing the wolf had been the last thing on his mind. It was an animal and had just waltzed out of the forest besides. Who knew where it had been? Wind had only wanted to nuzzle its face like he'd done many times with Epona.

Wild scratched behind the wolf's ears. "He likes when you pet him here."

Cautiously, Wind tried it. The wolf tolerated his touch but didn't lean into it like he had Wild's. Wind pouted. "He doesn't like me."

"That's not true. You just pet him wrong," Wild said. "Besides, Wolfie and I have known each other for a while. It'll take time for him to warm up to you."

"Wolfie?" Legend echoed, apparently finished his squabble with Hyrule. "You named a wolf _Wolfie_?"

"What's wrong with that?" Wild wondered.

"It sounds like a two-year-old named him."

"I think it's cute," Sky piped up optimistically.

"Me too," 'Rule agreed.

"It's stupid," Legend asserted, arms crossed moodily.

"Out of curiosity—" Four spoke up, politely changing the subject before an argument could form over Wild's lack of creativity with names, "—where'd you find him?"

"I didn't. He found me."

"So he's always had that chain on his leg?"

"What chain?" Wind hadn't noticed any such thing.

"That chain." Four pointed, and Wind followed his finger to Wolfie's front left leg. A rusty metal shackle was clamped tightly around the animal's ankle, quite a few chain links trailing off it. They jingled when Wolfie shifted.

"Yes, he's always had it," Wild said.

Sky grimaced. "It looks painful."

"I could probably remove it," Four said, eyeing the shackle critically.

"Better not," Wild warned. "I've tried a few times. Wolfie doesn't even like me touching it."

Four frowned, expression transforming from one of pensiveness to one of pity. "Do you think that means he was mistreated?"

"Doubtful, or else he wouldn't be sitting here," Time returned.

"If he's familiar with people, then maybe he _is_ domesticated," Warrior commented, scooping up a twig from the ground. He waved the stick in front of the wolf like it was supposed to be enticing. "Hey, Wolfie, see the stick?" Warrior wound back his arm and hurled the twig into the woods. "Go fetch!"

Wolfie snarled at Warrior, and the man recoiled, tripping backwards over a log in fright. Wind scooted away from the growling animal as the others snickered at Warrior's misfortune. Wolfie wasn't his biggest fan either, and Wind had no interest in being collateral damage. Fortunately for him, Wolfie settled soon enough, head held high. Was it just his imagination or was the wolf…smiling? Could wolves smile?

"Wolfie isn't a dog," Wild said, as if Wolfie hadn't made that perfectly clear himself.

Although…that did bring up a new question. "What's a dog?"

Six baffled looks (seven, counting Wolfie) sling-shotted his way, and Wind withered under them all, like a flower exposed to too much sun. He should have kept his mouth shut.

"You don't know what a _dog_ is?" Legend demanded, eyebrows practically flying off his forehead in disbelief.

"Give him a break; he lives on an island," Four said.

"Yeah, but a _dog_?! Come on, they're pets, and definitely small enough to fit on islands!"

"There aren't any dogs on Skyloft either," Sky mentioned. Wind perked up a little at that. "Or the Surface. At least…I don't think. What do they look like?"

"They look a lot like wolves, except smaller," 'Rule said. He frowned, reconsidering. "Well, some dogs are large. It depends on the breed."

"So what's the difference between a dog and a wolf?" Wind asked, not as fearful of being judged now that Sky had made it clear he wasn't alone in his ignorance.

"Wolves are wild animals and typically hostile towards people," Time explained. "Dogs aren't. In fact, many people call them a man's best friend because they make such wonderful companions."

"They're also incredibly intelligent," Four chimed in. "You can teach them tricks and play fetch with them. You throw something, like a stick, and they'll retrieve it for you."

"I want a dog!" Wind decided. If dogs were as soft as Wolfie, and he could smother it in pets without risking getting his hand bitten off, then he definitely wanted one.

"They're a lot of responsibility," Time said.

"I can handle it," Wind insisted.

"I have no doubt you can. However, we are on a quest at the moment. There is no time for you to take care of a pet."

"But Wild has Wolfie." Which was completely unfair if you asked Wind.

"Wolfie isn't a dog," Wild reminded him. "He's a proud beast, not a pet. Or at least, that's what he wants everyone to think." A low growl rewarded Wild for his efforts, but instead of being scared, Wild just laughed. "My point is, he takes care of himself."

Wind crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to be outdone. "Fine, then I'll get a wolf of my own!" He was only half-serious. Wolfie was the only wolf he knew, and he wasn't even that friendly.

"Wind, listen," A shiver skittered down Wind's spine at the Hero of Time's tone. The intimidating expression on his face made it hard to meet his eye but Wind did. "Sky, you too. Never, under any circumstances, approach a wolf. They are nothing like dogs or horses. You _will_ get hurt. Wolfie is the only exception, and even then, heed what Wild tells you if you get close to him. Understand?"

Jerkily, they both nodded.

"Good." Time placed a hand on both their shoulders. "As for the dog thing, I'm sure we'll run into one in town at some point."

"If we do, you'll have to ask the owner if you can pet it. Some dogs can be mean," Warrior said, long since having righted himself. However, he had yet to regain his dignity if Legend's smirk was anything to go by.

"That goes for any animal, really," Four added. He offered Wind a smile, likely noticing how much he'd retreated into his shell at being scolded. "Just be cautious."

"I will," Wind promised.

"Me too," Sky pledged.

"Hey, guys, what'd I miss?" They all turned just in time to see Twilight entering camp, a bundle of sticks and twigs secured under each arm.

"Only a _wolf_ walking into camp." Legend rolled his eyes. "No big deal."

"A wolf?" Twilight wondered, dumping his wooden burdens nearby.

"Yeah, he's right—hey! Where did he go?" 'Rule exclaimed, calling Wind's attention to the fact that the animal was missing.

Wild shrugged, nonplussed.

Wind wasn't ready to let Wolfie go so easily. He whipped his head left to right, desperately searching for any sign of the wolf's departure. Not even a leaf rustled. How had he left so quickly? And why? Maybe he'd grown tired of being insulted. It was also entirely possible Time's tone had scared him off.

"The champion apparently owns it," Four informed Twilight as the elder hero took a seat next to him.

"I doubt he owns it," Twilight said. "You can't own a wild animal."

"Yeah, yeah, Wolfie's a real wild thang," Wild muttered absentmindedly as he sorted through the firewood Twi had collected, no doubt looking to build up the fire to cook dinner. The notion pleased Wind's rumbling stomach.

"You don't seem surprised that our cook has a wolf friend," Time noted.

Twilight released a weary sigh. "I've seen him ride a _bear_ before, Time. Nothing surprises me anymore."

As the others exclaimed over this revelation, calling Wild insane for riding a bear and asking him how he'd done it, Wind kept his mouth firmly shut. He didn't know what a bear was, but if the others' reactions were any indication, it was just as common an animal as a dog or a wolf. Wind refused to be the target of anymore stupefied looks tonight.


	3. Boats are Better

Hissing quietly through gritted teeth, Wind eased one foot, then the other, out of his boots. He almost didn't want to look, but he was on a time limit. He needed to get this done before Twi returned from scouting.

Not that he intended to have anyone join him on watch when he'd volunteered. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him. Due to frequent monster attacks his plan to take watch by himself had been repeatedly foiled. Time insisted they pair up ever since Wild wandered off to take a leak during his watch and they were attacked. Granted, ChuChus weren't worth getting bent out of shape over, but anything stronger would have landed the heroes in hot water.

This was the first night all week Wind had been paired with Twilight. The rancher seemed to be perpetually paranoid, constantly scouting ahead even when they weren't settled in camp. Good thing, too, because Wind couldn't let his throbbing feet go unattended much longer.

That became all too clear when he peeled off his sock— _ow_ —and inspected his foot. Blisters dominated his heel and every other place his boots had rubbed while he'd walked. They looked like grotesque Big Octo eyes. The thought caused Wind to shudder, and he took solace in the fact that they didn't blink back at him. Many had burst, however, and the sight wasn't pretty—or painless.

He clamped down on his lip hard enough to draw blood as he began to wrap his foot. Some of the heroes were extremely light sleepers. He couldn't blame them considering all they'd gone through, but it was incredibly inconvenient for Wind when he didn't want to wake anyone up.

They would only fuss over him if they saw the bloody, blistered mess his feet had become. That was the last thing he needed. So what if he wasn't accustomed to walking miles and miles for hours on end like they were? He could do it, too—even if it was extremely painful.

Flinching as he tied off the bandage, Wind turned his attention to his right foot. It hadn't fared much better than his left. An intense pang of longing for home squeezed the sailor's heart. Why couldn't they land in his era for once? Then the others would have to flounder for their sea legs, and he could travel without his feet being worn to the bone.

Boats were worlds better than walking. Much less strenuous.

The snap of a twig whipped his head up to come face-to-face with a beast.

Wind gasped, heart thumping out a staccato rhythm in his chest.

" _Wolfie."_ Leave it to the champion's wild friend to give him a heart attack in the middle of the night.

The wolf, seemingly impervious to the uproar his presence had caused, padded closer. Wind scooted back as he approached, wary. Wolfie hadn't exactly taken a liking to him last time they'd met, and after Time's lecture about wolves, Wind wasn't so keen to befriend this one. He only seemed to genuinely like Wild. Then again, he growled at the scarred boy more often than not so who knew how he really felt?

Wolfie settled back on his haunches, nose twitching as he eyed Wind's half-bandaged foot. Could he smell the blood? Did he think Wind was a snack?! The thought was more than enough motivation for Wind to distance himself farther. Unfortunately, his swollen feet didn't make the task simple. Pain flared as soon as he placed pressure on his heels, and Wind curled in on himself, using his knees to muffle his cry.

A low whine escaped the beast, and Wind snapped his head up, ready to shush him. However, the wolf's body language gave him pause. He laid on his stomach, ears drawn back and sapphire eyes unbelievably sad as he regarded Wind. Was Wolfie…concerned?

As if to confirm, Wolfie released another whine.

This time, Wind didn't hesitate to let a sharp, but quiet, " _Shh!"_ pass his lips. Concerned or not, Wind didn't want Wolfie waking up the whole camp.

Wolfie at least had the decency to look scolded, pressing his ears flat against his head.

Wind sighed softly at the sight. The wolf looked downright pitiful. He reached forward, scratching behind the animal's ears like Wild had taught him. Miraculously, Wolfie leaned into his touch, tail thumping the ground lightly. A smile stretched across his face at the unexpected success, and Wind shifted onto his knees so he could pet the wolf more comfortably.

Wolfie's worry must have made him more docile because he didn't protest against Wind's actions. In fact, he basked in the attention.

Habit sent Wind rocking back on his heels.

Mistake! Big mistake.

Biting back a howl, Wind scrambled to find a position that didn't make his feet scream. It seemed to take a century, but it was probably only a handful of seconds.

He pressed his forehead against folded arms, trying to deepen his breathing. Short breaths never served anyone, especially when it came to managing pain.

Something cold and wet on the back of his hand startled him upright.

Wolfie's nose pressed against his skin. An act of concern? Comfort? It didn't matter, Wind decided, hastily shaking him off. The wolf had distracted him. He didn't have forever to tend to his injuries. Twilight could return any second.

Blinking back the unshed tears pricking his eyes like needles, Wind returned to winding bandages around his throbbing foot. Hopefully protecting his feet with the coarse fabric would be enough to help them heal. A potion might clear it up, but he didn't want to waste one in case he needed it for something more life-threatening. Besides, they took stock regularly of how many potions each person had, and he wasn't about to explain to the group why he was short one.

Wolfie watched intently as he slipped his socks back on. They were spotted with blood and other miscellaneous fluids. He would have to make sure he never took his boots off around the others. At least until he got a chance to wash his socks clean of all evidence.

Putting his boots back on was painful even with the extra cushion. Sleeping without them would have been preferable, but heroes couldn't afford such luxuries. An attack could occur at any moment.

The reminder drew his gaze to the forest. All was quiet, still. Yet it didn't seem right to describe the wooded area in such a way. That made it seem dead, and it wasn't. It was _alive_ , breathing in a way even Forest Haven didn't breathe. Crickets and other night creatures hooted and called and warbled, creating a symphony of sounds that meant all was right in the world. For now.

A gentle nudge on his right sole caused him to jump. But it was only Wolfie placing a rather large paw on Wind's booted foot. The sailor didn't miss the wicked sharp claws attached to that paw and quickly reclaimed his appendage. Clearly on a mission, Wolfie stepped forward, repeating the same action as before, his touch even lighter. Gingerly he ghosted his paw down Wind's boot as if encouraging him to remove it.

Stubbornly, Wind shook his head. That wasn't an option.

Wolfie stopped, then, raising his eyes to meet Wind's. He tilted his head to the side inquisitively. " _Why not?"_ he seemed to say. " _I'll protect you. If monsters attack camp I'll use my sharp claws and teeth to tear them apart."_ Those were the words Wind read in Wolfie's intense gaze. Then again, maybe he was just tired.

He didn't know, but in any case Wolfie had stayed with him far longer than Wind ever expected he would without Wild awake, and that made him deserving of an explanation.

Even if it was a short one.

Softly curling his left hand into a fist, thumb on top of index finger, Wind raised it to his mouth, bumping his bottom lip with the nail of his thumb twice. Secret. He had no idea if wolves understood sign language but he wasn't about to make more noise than he had to. Waking someone was still a very real danger.

The wolf huffed as if to say, _"That's dumb"_ and turned tail, trotting off into the forest.

Wind felt no loss at his departure, busying himself with re-rolling the wad of bandages and stuffing them into his pack.

It was a good thing he did because Twi returned a few minutes later.

"Perimeter's clear," the Ordonian announced in a hushed voice as he drew closer to the fire where Wind was seated. "Everything good here?"

"Perfect," Wind replied, self-satisfaction stretching his lips into a smile. Even with a distraction in the form of a blissfully soft wolf, Wind had managed to accomplish his mission. His travel-worn feet were bandaged and tucked snugly into his boots, all with no one the wiser. Everything was, indeed, perfect.

* * *

Everything sucked. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. It could have been worse. Rain could be falling from the sky, for instance. Actually, no. That would have been better because then water could flood the field, and they could make their way to town in the hollowed out trunk of a tree trunk or something.

On second thought, maybe that was too extreme a wish, considering Hyrule flooding had killed tons of people and animals. Not a full on flood, then. Perhaps it would be better if there was just a really intense rain storm like there often was in Wild's era. One with lightning and thunder and hail—the whole nine yards. One that would force them to take shelter so Wind could rest his aching feet.

He was out of luck in that department, however. Casting his gaze to the bright blue heavens assured him there wasn't a malicious cloud in the sky.

Taking another heavy, excruciating step forward, Wind did his best not to wince.

It hadn't been so bad at first. Wrapping his feet last night _had_ helped. So had sleeping and not moving for a few hours. He'd been able to help pack up camp that morning with little to no issue. In fact, he had felt so good he thought walking today would be a breeze.

How naïve.

Within the first half hour, his feet had begun begging for mercy. Now, rounding out the hour had him nearly keeling over. It took all the willpower he had not to collapse onto his backside and childishly proclaim he wasn't taking another step.

"Hey, Wind." He tensed at Twilight's voice, but glanced up at the elder hero. Ignoring him would only sow suspicion.

"Hey."

"I'm helping Time make a list for town. Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." His gaze slipped back down to his stinging feet. Prayer would only keep him from stumbling for so long.

"You don't need new boots?" This question gave him pause. Why would he need new boots? Sure, they were a little scuffed, but otherwise they were in perfect condition.

His bewilderment must have shown on his face because Twi explained, "I notice you're limping a bit. Are they too tight?"

_Was_ he limping? Through the haze of pain that had been his constant companion for the last hour, Wind noticed his body was kind of lurching to one side or the other as he walked.

"They're fine," he said, standing straighter and struggling to keep the strain out of his voice. "I just…" He scrambled for a sufficient excuse. "My foot fell asleep." That was a believable lie, wasn't it? He hoped so because his efforts to stop limping were turning out to be fruitless.

"Oh." Twilight sounded slightly disappointed, as if he'd been expecting a different answer. "Well…do you want me to carry you for a bit? I know how annoying it can be walking on pins and needles."

Pins and needles didn't even begin to describe the sensation stabbing his soles, but Wind vehemently shook his head. "It'll go away soon."

"Okay, but if you ever need a break I wouldn't mind carrying you. Just ask."

He wouldn't. But Wind nodded anyway to maintain the illusion of agreement.

Satisfied, Twilight trotted ahead to where Sky was riding Epona, likely to ask if the Skyloftian needed anything from town. Wind didn't understand why Time had Twilight helping him make a list. If anyone needed something from town, they'd buy it themselves. That was how it always worked.

But maybe their unofficial-official leader was trying to be more efficient. With a list, one or two of them could shop while the rest asked for information on monsters. It would mean the group could be in and out of town much faster than usual. They probably wouldn't even have to stay the night. Which meant Wind would get even less of a break than normal.

He withheld a groan at the prospect, dragging his feet and not even caring if anyone saw. He was bringing up the rear of their procession of Links anyway. Being noticed was unlikely.

As he trudged along, Wind's gaze lingered on Epona. She looked more inviting than ever, and Sky appeared so relaxed in the saddle, so free of pain.

Wind longed to feel the same.

Maybe he should fake a breathing problem similar to Sky's so he could ride Epona too. As quick as the thought came, he banished it. Faking such a serious condition was all sorts of wrong. Besides that, he'd never had trouble getting air into his lungs before. It wouldn't take a genius to deduce he was making it up.

Even if he got away with it, such a ruse would be disrespectful to the Chosen Hero. His breathing issues weren't a choice. As far as Wind understood, it was a consequence of living at such high elevations. The surplus of air on the surface had a tendency to choke Sky, especially if he exerted himself too much. Of course, he'd adjusted during his own adventure but there were some days breathing grew more difficult, like today.

No one could blame him for it. It was out of his control—unlike Wind's problem which could have been rectified long ago had he not been a wimp on his own journeys and taken so many frequent breaks while traversing temples.

Sky must have felt eyes on him, for he glanced over his shoulder at Wind. The sailor cringed, snapping his head away so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. Had Sky read his mind? No, that was silly. Impossible. But he had _definitely_ seen him staring.

The steady clip-clop of Epona's hooves faltered, then stopped. Wind had half a mind to stop too, but that would be cowardly. He continued walking, head held high with faux confidence and gaze focused anywhere but on Sky. Maybe if he pretended he didn't see…

"Wind."

Pain flared extra terrible as he took another step. He winced.

"Are you okay?" The pure concern in Sky's tone pulled Wind's eyes to him. The last thing he wanted was to make the kindest, most generous hero of them all worry.

He smiled, but it felt more like a grimace. Probably looked it too if the deepening of the Skyloftian's frown was anything to go by. "I'm fine."

"Twi said your foot fell asleep. If it hurts, you can ride Epona for a while. I don't mind getting off."

Curse Twi! What was he thinking? A foot falling asleep wasn't cause for concern. The Ordonian was being overprotective. As usual. "No, you need her more."

"I'm better than I was earlier," Sky insisted, but Wind could hear the slight wheeze in his words.

"I'm fine, Sky, really. Stay where you are." He tried to escape the conversation by walking ahead, but his feet protested. Stopping had been a mistake in the first place. There was nothing he could do about it now. The damage had already been done. Pushing on despite the pain, Wind realized how truly futile his efforts were when Sky guided Epona to match his snail's pace.

"Did I ever tell you about Skyloft?"

"Kind of," he said, mildly wondering what had prompted the sudden topic change, but finding he didn't mind. It took the attention away from his feet. "It's an island in the sky, right?"

"Right," Sky confirmed. "Skyloft is the main island where most of us live but there are smaller ones. We use our Loftwings to get to those."

Wind hummed to show he was listening, and Sky continued, "One island has a bar. They sell the most delicious pumpkin soup you'll ever taste."

Wind couldn't say he'd tasted much pumpkin soup until he started traveling with the others. Pumpkins didn't grow in tropical soil. Still, the mention of soup had him cracking a smile. "My grandma makes the best soup. She doesn't have a shop, but she could totally open one and become famous for it, I think."

Sky laughed. "If that's the case, I hope she does! Do you think we'll ever get a taste?"

"Hopefully, if we land on my island one day," Wind said wistfully.

"Anything cool there? Besides, your grandma's soup, I mean."

Wind giggled. "Not really. Outset's pretty average. Sand, palm trees…there's a small forest at the top. A Great Fairy lives there."

"That's cool!" Sky exclaimed, giddy. "I've seen fairies before but never a Great Fairy. What are they like?"

"Strange," Wind decided after a moment of reflection. "But pretty, too, I guess. They have four arms and no wings and they're really big. They don't really have feet either. Their bodies just kind of a spiral into nothing." He illustrated this with a lazy twirl of his finger. "They can heal like regular fairies—actually, I think their healing is more powerful. They can upgrade items, too. My quiver and bomb bag are bigger because of their magic."

"They sound amazing!" Sky's eyes sparkled. "I would have loved to stumble across one on my journey. I needed to gather a lot of objects just to upgrade all my items. Nothing against Gondo of course but…"

The Chosen Hero continued to chat with Wind about Skyloft and the surrounding islands. He told him about the scrap shop owner that upgraded his items and all the other hosts of oddities that ran Skyloft's bazaar from the crystal-eyed fortune-teller to the man that always had a smile on his face—unless one shirked his wares. Sky also mentioned a crazy colorful island with spinning wheels and rings that one could make a profit on, given they were skillful enough at skydiving.

In return, Wind told him about the Ferris wheel on Windfall Island that allowed one see to the horizon and beyond, along with the lighthouse it was attached to. He explained how there was an island constantly spewing fire into the sky and another encased in ice.

"To be honest," Sky said, after another round of exchanging information on the islands of their respective eras, "I'd never walked much until I went to the surface to rescue Zelda. It was weird, having to use my feet to take me everywhere. They got really sore."

"They did?" This was news to Wind. He had thought Sky was as accustomed to traversing long distances as the rest. The way he spoke of Skyloft made it sound huge. Much larger than Outset. When he said sore did he mean just sore? Or did he mean blistered and bleeding? Wind didn't have the courage to ask.

"Yes. They don't bother me as much anymore, but at first it was awful. Growing up on an island does _not_ prepare you for this much walking." Sky didn't need to tell him that. He'd already found out the hard way. Sky shot him a blinding smile. "So, from one islander to another, don't hesitate to take a break when you need it."

Wind stiffened. The words were smothered in honey-like sweetness, but there was a dangerous undertone to them.

Somehow— _somehow!_ —Sky knew. He knew Wind's feet were rubbed raw and that every step destroyed them further. Whether he knew because of his own experiences or because he really did dabble in mind reading, Wind couldn't say. All he knew was that Sky had, in the nicest, most roundabout way possible, informed him that if he didn't take a break when he needed it—a.k.a. _now_ —Sky would personally ensure Wind would not walk for the rest of the day.

Intimidated by the sugar-coated threat, Wind caved and took up Twi's offer. There was no use in suffering if Sky—and probably Twilight too because Sky had been talking to him earlier—were already aware of his weakness.

And it _was_ a weakness. It didn't matter that Sky had shared it once upon a time because walking was no longer an issue for him. He didn't have to burden anyone with it on this journey. Not like Wind did.

True to his word, Twilight didn't seem to mind carrying him. In fact, he seemed relieved, solidifying Wind's suspicions that the Ordonian had known all along.

Sky caught his eye and gave him a sympathetic smile from atop Epona. …Epona! Inwardly, Wind groaned. Why hadn't he asked to switch with Sky? Or ride double for a while?—but not too long because horses weren't built for multiple riders. Riding a horse was much more dignified than being carried piggy-back.

Pouting, Wind turned his face away and sank lower. This sucked.

At least his feet weren't hurting as badly anymore, though they still pulsed with each beat of his heart. Of course, when Twilight asked him about it a few minutes later he made sure to say they didn't hurt at all. Twilight must have sensed the lie because he didn't put him down.

Wind's pride bristled, but his feet sighed in relief.

A few minutes passed, and in that time Wind couldn't help but notice the glances shot his way. None of them were surprised. They all viewed him as a child that couldn't take care of himself, so of course him being carried like one didn't raise any eyebrows.

"Wind." He tilted his head towards Wild's voice. The scarred hero held up his slate. "Want to look at some pictures?"

"No." How old did Wild think he was? Five? He didn't need to be entertained. He was perfectly content with sulking, thank you very much.

Wild apparently didn't agree because he turned to Twi. "Wanna race?"

Twilight scoffed. "With me carrying someone? It wouldn't even be fair."

The champion took a moment to consider this. He held up a finger. "Be right back."

Curious despite himself, Wind peered over Twi's shoulder, watching as Wild jogged ahead and scooped up an unsuspecting Four.

The smithy let out an indignant shriek. "Wh-Wild?! What are you doing? Put me down!"

Wild swiveled on his heel and made his way back towards Wind and Twi. "We're having a race."

"Well, leave me out of it!"

"No can do. Twi said it wouldn't be fair because he's carrying Wind."

"I really meant it wouldn't be fair to him," Twilight whispered to the sailor. "I can beat him even with you on my back."

Wind couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

"Okay, ready!" Wild declared, a less than pleased Four cradled in his arms like an over-sized baby. Wind snickered at the sight.

"At least put me on your back." Four griped. He sounded annoyed but the tell-tale twitch in his facial features betrayed his amusement. "You're going to drop me otherwise."

Wild refuted that he'd _never_ do something like that, but he allowed Four to shift to his back anyway.

"Where's the goal?" Twilight wondered once Four was situated.

The grin Wild directed at Twi was wide and mischievous. "I was thinking we'd just run until one of us gives up."

"Fine by me." Twilight hitched Wind a little higher on his back. "Hold on tight."

With a hasty countdown from Wild, they were off, barreling past their bewildered companions and ignoring the shouts of alarm or two that chased after them.

Arms wrapped securely around Twi's neck, Wind closed his eyes against the wind whipping his face. If he really concentrated, he could pretend he was on a boat in rough seas.

A victorious whoop from Wild snapped his eyes open. The champion and the smithy had managed to pull ahead. Wind couldn't fathom how. They'd been neck and neck just seconds ago.

That's when he realized Twi was slowing. "What are you doing?" Hadn't Twilight said he could win this race no problem?

"I don't know if you really want to win…" Twi drawled.

"Of course I want to win!" he cried, slapping Twi's shoulder. "Go, go, go!"

A hearty laugh shook the body beneath him. "Alright, alright. Just checking."

The ranch hand broke into a sprint, quickly catching up with Wild and Four. Neither were pleased by this development.

The race continued, Wind and Four giving their respective heroes encouragement when needed. Twi needed a lot, constantly slowing. Luckily, he charged forward again every time Wind called him out on it. He suspected the ranch hand was doing it on purpose, but Wind had become so invested in the impromptu race that he didn't mind. It was kind of funny.

In the end, Twilight and Wind emerged victorious. He pumped both fists in the air triumphantly. "We win!"

"Rematch!" Four demanded.

"Maybe later," Twi said, eyeing Wild who had all but collapsed. Noticing his ride was thoroughly exhausted, Four slipped off.

Wind attempted to do the same despite Twilight barely being winded but the Ordonian held firm. He wasn't going anywhere. Wind didn't mind until the adrenaline rush wore off. Then he couldn't help but eye the smithy with longing. He wanted to walk, too. Why did he have to be so weak?


	4. A Taste of Home

The latest portal had spit them out near a river in Wild's Hyrule. With no other leads, they'd been following it for the better part of the day, occasionally stopping to cut down an errant Octorok or Lizalfos. At one point, they stumbled upon an enemy campsite, and the decimated remains of the monster's lunch had given Wild an idea for dinner.

While the rest of the group set up camp, Wind, Wild, Time, and Twilight stood on the bank of the rushing river.

Wind rummaged around in his bait bag, snatching one of the many hard red pellets within and holding it up between thumb and forefinger. "Fish can't resist this bait!" he informed the others confidently. "We'll have some in no time!"

While he didn't have much experience with fishing, the fishmen on the Great Sea enjoyed All-Purpose Bait well enough. In fact, they practically demanded it as payment to fill in his sea chart. That meant it had to be delicious, right?

He didn't get to find out because Wild, stripped down to nothing but his boxers, chose that moment to jump into the water.

The resulting splash sent all the fish swimming for their lives. "Hey! You scared all the fish!"

Wild just grinned back at him, waning sunlight glinting off the blade of the knife clamped between his teeth. He looked positively savage. If Wind was being completely honest, it was kind of cool.

"Uh…I'll look into getting him a fishing rod," Twilight said, probably to Time. Wind didn't know for sure because he was so engrossed in watching the Hero of the Wild in the water. Knife now in hand, the scarred man swam deeper, searching for his first victim. Wind pitied the fish. Or maybe he shouldn't. Wouldn't its death be swifter with a knife than gasping on the end of a fishing rod?

Wind decided it would—if Wild could catch one, which he doubted. Wild did not have fins and was therefore much slower than a frantic fish.

As he usually did, however, Wild proved him wrong. Not two minutes later did the long-haired hero make his first successful kill. He held it up for them all to inspect. "Fishing rods are overrated!"

"You're insane," Twi commented.

Time pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fishing is supposed to be relaxing."

"This is relaxing," Wild claimed, taking a stab at a passing fish. He missed.

"Right," Time said, tone clearly conveying his disagreement. "I'm going to fish over there like a normal person." He pointed upstream. "Feel free to scare dinner my way."

Ignoring Wild's rebuttal about how Time would take a year to catch a single fish, the oldest of their party trekked off.

"Just don't hurt yourself, please," were Twilight's parting words before he trailed after Time. The gentle pat on Wind's shoulder as he passed was a clear indication to follow.

Wind would have done so if it wasn't for Wild calling his name. "Is that bait really irresistible to fish?"

He considered the red pellet still clutched in his hand. "I think so."

Wild swam closer. "Can you guarantee it?"

"Um…"

"Because if that is true, you can help me!" Wild's eyes shone with possibility, and Wind couldn't help being sucked in. He crouched on the riverbank so he was face-to-face with the champion.

"It's true." A fishman had basically said as much. There was no guarantee better than that. "What's the plan?"

"Throw a bunch of bait in the water. I'll sneak up on them while they're eating and wham!" Wild mimed catching a fish, splashing cold water all over Wind as he did so. "We'll have a feast for dinner. Even better, we'll beat _them_." So saying, Wild nodded his head at Time and Twilight. The two men had cast their lines like civil people and were waiting patiently for a bite.

Twilight, possibly feeling their eyes on him, snapped his head in their direction. "You better not be being a bad influence over there!"

"Me? Never!" The cook returned.

Wind giggled.

"So? Wild asked, turning back to Wind. "What do you think?"

The sailor hefted his bait bag, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's do it!"

To Wind's delight, his suspicions were proved to be correct. Fish loved All-Purpose Bait. A feeding frenzy descended as soon as he tossed in the first handful. None of the creatures sensed danger until Wild was among them, and by then it was too late.

Metal flashed and water sprayed as Wild hunted his prey. Whenever they became too scattered for Wild to target, Wind enticed them back into position with a fresh shower of bait. Fish after fish after fish disappeared into the Sheikah Slate, and by the time they were done, there was hardly a gilled-soul left in the river.

Guilt churned in his belly at that, but it quickly abated when he and Wild marched over to Twilight and Time to present their catch. The expressions on the elder heroes faces as the Sheikah Slate barfed out a river's worth of fish was utterly priceless. Likely thinking the same, Wild snapped a pictograph.

Suffice it to say, this didn't go over well with Twilight. The wolf-pelt wearing hero exploded like a bomb flower, yelling at them—mostly Wild—about the dangers of over-fishing and taking more than one needed from nature. Wild brushed the scolding off, asserting that it wasn't a waste if they used it all, which they would.

Unlike his partner in crime, Wind actually _did_ feel guilty and apologized, promising to never do it again. Twi assured him he wasn't mad at him, but Wind still felt bad even if Wild didn't.

Noticing this, Wild showed him the picto he'd snapped earlier, and Wind dissolved into a giggling fit all over again.

* * *

"What are you making?" Wind wondered, crouching in front of the log Wild was using as a makeshift cutting board. He watched with interest as their resident cook executed multiple swift, precise cuts, freeing a skinny fish of its glistening scales.

"Seafood Meuniere." Wild paused, frowning at the fish's pale pinkish insides. "Well, Trout Meuniere. It's a river fish so I can't really call what I'm cooking _sea_ food." He shrugged, regarding Wind almost apologetically. "In any case, I hope it tastes a little bit like home to you."

Wind tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You live on an ocean, don't you?"

"Yes," Wind said, not understanding what that had to do with anything.

"You have to dine on seafood all the time." A small chuckle rasped from Wild's throat. "I'm jealous, really. Fish is the best. I think I'd live in Lurelin if I could—that's a seaside village by the way. Right by the ocean."

"It…has fish?" Wind asked, mind whirring as he tried to comprehend what Wild was saying. He felt like he was being told what a horse and a wolf were all over again—only this time he was supposedly an expert.

"Of course!" Wild chirped. "It wouldn't be much of an ocean if it didn't have fish."

The Great Sea was an ocean.

It didn't have fish.

Fishmen, sure, but not edible fish like the ones Wild was currently preparing for dinner. That wasn't to say the Great Sea was barren. Plenty of creatures swam in its depths—Big Octos and Gyorgs, for example. But no one was eating them, or at least, not many people were. The monsters were difficult to catch and butcher without dying, so they were an expensive delicacy reserved for the ridiculously rich or suicidal.

Wind was neither.

"Want to help me fillet these guys?"

The question sent Wind's heart leaping into his throat. He swallowed it with difficulty. "…I dunno how."

Wild's features contorted into one of surprise. "Your grandma never taught you?"

Mutely, Wind shook his head. He didn't think it would help his case if he admitted his grandma didn't know how to fillet a fish either.

"Oh, well…want me to teach you?" Wild offered.

Not really. It wasn't a useful skill to have at home, but the champion couldn't know that. What would he think if he knew Wind's ocean wasn't really an ocean? What would they all think? Nothing good, surely.

"Okay," he said.

It was a useful skill, he told himself as he rounded the log and accepted a knife from Wild. Knowing how to fillet a fish meant he could help the scarred hero make dinner. That was plenty useful.

Doing his best to pretend the slimy texture of the fish in his hands was familiar, Wind paid close attention to Wild's instructions. Filleting the—what had Wild called it…a trout?—trout was kind of gross, but it wasn't too challenging. Not once he memorized what cuts he needed to make where. His hands slipped more often than he would have liked, but that was the stupid fish's fault for being so slippery. The trout's milky eye bored into his soul as if to remind him he should be accustomed to its slipperiness. Fish lived in oceans, after all, and Wind lived on an ocean. _Surely_ , the fish seemed to say, _you've eaten my brethren before?_

And Wind had. In the Realm of the Ocean King, he and Linebeck had eaten fish fairly regularly. After all, there hadn't always been time to make a supply run when the fate of the world was at stake. It was because of Linebeck that a fishing rod wasn't foreign to him.

However, upon returning to the Great Sea, Wind had always assumed it was a fluke, a weird Realm of the Ocean King thing. Fish swimming in the ocean? Tell that to anyone on the Great Sea, and they'd laugh in your face. But tell that to the other heroes? They wouldn't bat a single eyelash.

And they expected him to do the same. Because he lived on an ocean. Because oceans couldn't be fishless. Because the Realm of the Ocean King had been far more normal than Wind had realized despite the fact the pirates had labeled it as a dream or a hallucination brought on by heat; it had been neither.

Once again, Wind was an outlier.

A heaviness settled in his chest as he finished prepping the other two fish Wild had made him responsible for. They weren't nearly as pretty or neatly filleted as Wild's, but the cook insisted they were fine and shooed Wind off so he could finish the rest. Wild claimed it was because hot oil and butter might fly out of the pan while he was cooking, but Wind couldn't help but view the dismissal as proof he'd made a mess of things.

In any case, Wild managed to salvage Wind's sad attempts, and a half hour later he presented the group with a mouthwatering display of fish flesh sizzled to perfection and drizzled in buttery sauce.

The meal was delicious as always, but it didn't taste like home.


	5. Picori Playtime

"I can't find any!" Wind couldn't keep the whine out of his voice. It had been a whole ten minutes since he and Four had begun their excursion to find Minish, and not a single one had shown itself.

"Be patient," Four advised. "They tend to be shy. Besides, this Hyrule is massive, and the Minish are very small."

Wind peeked behind a tree, scanning the ground for any tiny people. Nothing. He glanced over at where Four was crouched, rustling through a bush. "Are you sure they're even in Wild's Hyrule? There was that calamity thing. It could have—"

"They survived it," Four declared with confidence.

"How do you know? Did you see one here before?" Wind asked, picking his way over to his friend, mindful of where he placed his feet. One could never be too careful.

"No, but the Picori—"

"I thought they were called the Minish," Wind interjected.

"They are, but they're also known as Picori. As I was saying, they're resourceful. There's no way they didn't make it."

"So, then…where are they?"

Four settled back on his heels, a thoughtful look on his face.

Impatiently, Wind shifted from foot-to-foot. Leaves crunched under his weight. Overhead, a bird twittered.

"Clovers," Four said, finally.

"What?"

"Clovers." Four repeated, turning to Wind with excitement in his eyes. "Minish like clovers. They make for great cover from predators."

"So we search around clovers," Wind surmised.

"Yes!" Four agreed, straightening to his full height—which was only a handful of inches shorter than Wind.

"Just, um, one question?" He fumbled with his Joy Pendant to stave off the embarrassment creeping up his neck.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Uh…what do clovers look like?"

His face and ears burned, and Wind was positive they were flushed bright red, but Four made no comment. He simply smiled and explained, "They're plants that grow close to the ground. Kind of small, but they can be big too. They grow in patches. Look for three green, round leaves sprouting from the same stem."

Encouraged by Four's lack of judgement, Wind broke into a mischievous grin. "Okay, first to find a Minish wins; go!"

"You're on!" Four laughed, but Wind had already run farther into the woods, eyes scanning for clovers.

Foliage was far easier to spot than miniscule mice, and in only a handful of minutes the sailor was knee deep in a sizable cluster of three-leafed plants.

He crouched down, brushing his hands over the round, glossy leaves so he could see the ground beneath them. "Minish?" he called softly. "Where are you?"

Not here, apparently. Or maybe they were. Four had mentioned that the Minish could make themselves invisible. Maybe they were hiding.

"Don't be afraid," he cooed, shuffling over to a new location and parting leaves as he went. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to play. Well, _I_ want to play. I think Four wants to talk to you about Minish stuff, but I'll make sure he doesn't bore you to death."

The Minish must not have trusted Wind to keep his promise because they didn't show themselves. Nonetheless, the Hero of Winds refused to be deterred. He combed through the entire clover patch, chatting quietly with the little people that may or may not have been there.

"Wind! I found some!" Four's triumphant cry startled the sailor upright. He bolted out of the clovers and towards the smithy's voice.

"I win," Four grinned cheekily, bumping Wind's shoulder with his own when he arrived. Wind stuck his tongue out at him but he wasn't really mad.

He nudged Four with his own shoulder, mindful of his friend's cupped hands. "Let me see."

There, nestled in Four's palm, was a Minish.

Wind waved, unable to keep the excitement off his face. "Hi! What's your name? Mine's Wind."

The Minish peered up at him with beady black eyes.

"He can't understand you," Four informed him. "They have their own language."

"Oh," Wind said, deflating a little.

"Don't worry. I'll translate for you. Just give me a moment." Four directed his attention to the Minish, cleared his throat, and launched into a spiel of jibber-jabber.

The Picori jibber-jabbered back.

Wind was completely lost. He couldn't even begin to guess what the two were conversing about.

Yet, as Wind continued to listen to the foreign language, it began to sound familiar. That wasn't to say he could understand it to any degree. The language remained just as senseless now as it had when Four started speaking it. However, he could identify the familiar whoosh of the wind here and the busy buzzing of a bee there.

The Picori's language sounded like pure, unfiltered nature. In short, it was beautiful.

The stream bubbling from Four's lips suddenly stopped, morphing into words Wind could understand. "He says his name is Pietari."

"Pea-eh-tar-ee," Wind echoed slowly, rolling the syllables around his mouth.

"Yup," Four confirmed, so Wind must not have butchered the name too badly. "He and his friends are out foraging for food right now. They want to know if we can help."

"Of course!" Wind exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet eagerly.

Four beamed. "That's what I said. There's a berry bush they've been making trips back and forth to all morning."

"That must be exhausting," Wind commented, eyeing Pietari's tiny form.

Four nodded as if he knew exactly what it was like to be so tiny and have to trek such an impossible distance for a single berry. "It is. But not with us around. Here." Four raised his hands to let Pietari step onto his shoulder. Once he was sure the Minish was stable, he crouched down, motioning for Wind to do the same.

Without farther ado, the smithy parted the clovers—they looked different than the ones Wind had found. Maybe he hadn't been looking through clovers after all. Oh well—at his feet, revealing roughly ten more Minish. Not all of them were wearing leaves like Pietari. Some had dainty flower petals for clothes. Wind resisted the urge to whip out his picto-box and snap a pictograph. Aryll would love to see these guys!

"You take some, and I'll take some," Four instructed. "Just be gentle." So saying, Four lowered his open palms, chittering for the Picori to climb on. Wind copied him, without the chittering, of course.

"Can you teach me Minish speak?" Wind asked Four as the Minish got settled on their shoulders. Their feathered tails tickled his neck.

"I'd like to but…I don't know if I can." The answer didn't exactly exude confidence.

"Why not? Is it a secret or something?" He gently readjusted a Minish so its clawed feet didn't dig so harshly into his skin.

"No," Four said, getting to his feet. Wind did the same, but much more gingerly. He didn't want to drop anyone. "It's just a difficult language. Probably the most difficult in the world."

Wind frowned. He may not have been multi-lingual like Legend but that didn't mean he couldn't learn another language. "I don't care. I can learn it."

Doubt radiated from Four and slapped him in the face. Wind tensed, hands curling into fists. It was fortunate none of the Minish had elected to be carried.

"I _can_ , Four! I'm a fast learner." If he wasn't, he would be dead by now.

"Whoa, hey, I'm not saying you aren't," Four objected, raising his hands in an attempt to appease him. "It's just—"

"Then teach me!"

Four sighed. "Okay, but don't be discouraged if you don't get it right away…"

He crossed his arms over his chest. Thankfully, the Minish possessed excellent balance. "I'm not dumb."

"I didn't say you were."

Four may not have said as much, but it certainly felt that way. Especially when, five minutes later, they'd reached the berry bush, and Wind still couldn't make the noise for "hello". When Four said it, it came out as a pleasing warble, sort of like a bird chirping underwater. All Wind's attempts sounded like drowning seagulls.

The Picori were plenty entertained at least, their laughter twittering and rustling like leaves. Wind wanted to stick his head in the berry bush.

"I told you it's hard," Four said, sympathetically.

"Isn't there an easier word to start with?" Wind begged.

"Not really."

Wind glowered, plucking the round red berries from the bush with barely contained frustration. It was a wonder they didn't burst between his fingers.

"Don't worry about it. I'll try to find you a jabber nut."

"A what?" Even peeved as he was, Wind couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Jabber nut," Four said. "If you eat one, you'll be able understand and speak the Minish language perfectly."

Ah, so it was a cheat, then. Wind didn't want to cheat. He wanted to be like Four and learn the most difficult language in the world without a magic nut to help him. But he couldn't. He wasn't smart enough.

Resigned to his fate, Wind tried to take what solace he could in the symphony of nature and picked berries in silence.

It worked, mostly. By the time they reached the Minishs' village, Wind's mood had improved. Granted, a lot of that had to do with the Minish on his shoulders. Even though they didn't understand one another, body language seemed to be a universal language.

Before leaving the berry bush for good, the Picori had scampered off and returned with all sorts of little gifts. Most were flowers, some weeds, one even an acorn. All were tucked lovingly into Wind's hair by mini fingers. The Minish brushed his cheeks and the crook of his neck with their tails, forcing out giggles as he walked.

Now, Wind dumped out the contents of his bait bag, careful to spill out the berries and only the berries—something told him the Minish wouldn't appreciate the All-Purpose Bait—into the notch in the tree trunk that the Picori indicated. Beside him, Four did the same.

The Minishs' home was amazing. It reminded him a little bit of the Rito's aerie on Dragon Roost Island simply because of how tall it was. Then again, trees tended to be tall, so he shouldn't have been surprised by the height or the fact that an entire town of little people fit inside. Through the narrow notches in the trunk that posed as windows, Wind could see bulbous glowing lights, ramps, and various establishments carved out from the inside.

Looking at the tree, one would never know its trunk was hollow or that it housed such tiny creatures. Then, again, Wind supposed that was the point. If it stood out from the surrounding trees, the Minish would never be left alone.

"We're going to wait here a second," Four reported after their passengers disembarked and skittered into the bottom of the tree. "They're grabbing the elder."

"What for?" Wind wondered.

Four shrugged. "We'll find out in a minute."

It was more like fifteen minutes. Elder Picori were not known for their speed, even those who clutched a twig like a human would clutch a staff for support.

The grey-furred Minish talked much faster than she moved, however. So much so that Four cut her off multiple times, probably to ask her to slow down. All the while, Wind rocked impatiently back and forth on his heels. When the jibberish started to sound like a thunderstorm, worry churned in his gut. Such noises could only mean trouble.

And they did. Just not the kind of trouble Wind had been expecting. He'd thought monsters, not…

"Rupees?" Wind was pretty sure a single rupee was just as large as a Minish. He couldn't imagine them using such large currency. "Why did they have rupees in the first place?"

"Because they hide them in grass and under rocks for humans to find. I told you this before. Remember?"

Vaguely. To be honest, when he'd first seen a Minish, he'd been more captivated by the tiny mouse person in his hands and not what Four was saying. Not wanting Four to think he didn't listen when he spoke, Wind nodded. "I remember."

"Anyway, they want us to track down this…bloop?" Four glanced side-long at the elder. She gargled something that sounded vaguely like a bubble popping. Four repeated it uncertainly. He turned back to Wind. "Blupee. It's a glowing teal blue animal. Small by our standards, large by theirs. She said it comes out around sunset."

"And it stole their rupees?" Wind questioned for clarity. The concept of an animal stealing rupees wasn't so unbelievable. Rats did it all the time back home. Then again, they could speak the words of men well enough to scam you. The way Four was relaying the elder's words, made it sound like the Blupee wasn't quite as sentient.

"Yes, that's why they can't leave any in the grass. The Blupees always take them. But somehow this one got into storage and cleared out all their rupees. It'll take them months to get it all back. I'd give them some myself, but we're low on funds as it is."

"Fine by me. Let's go on a bloop bloop hunt!" Wind cheered.

Four laughed at his enthusiasm. "Yes, let's."

After gathering some more information from the elder, Four and Wind were free to prepare for the hunt later that evening. Not that there was much to prepare for. According to the Minish, the Blupee appeared at random. The best way to approach it was to be sneaky. Wind regarded himself as plenty sneaky but Four insisted they run down to Kakariko Village and ask Wild for some stealth-enhancing potions. Because Four tended to be right about these things, Wind agreed.

Armed with hopefully pleasant-tasting potions and Wild's blessing to have fun, Wind and Four returned to the woods. All that was left to do now was wait for evening. Peering through the leafy canopy above assured them they had a copious amount of daylight left, and they should find something to occupy themselves with if they didn't want to keel over from sheer boredom.

Fortunately, the Picori were enthusiastic playmates and were more than happy to entertain Four and Wind as guests—so long as it was in the woods. Not even Four was small enough to fit in the communal tree.

They passed a few hours with hide-and-seek. To no one's surprise, the Minish were experts at camouflage, which made them nearly impossible to find. Luckily, Wind's awful rendition of the Minish's greeting dissolved all the young Picori into chiming twitters, and that usually gave their hiding spots away.

When they grew tired of hide and seek, Four asked the Picori's permission for Wind to pictograph them. With the promise that he would only show the image to other kids, Wind snapped a few pictos. For being such a secretive and relatively unseen race, the Minish were incredibly photogenic.

As the woods darkened, the Picori bid them goodbye and good luck. Wind waved as they left, then took out his boomerang. Apparently, the Blupee would drop rupees whenever it was struck.

The trick was hitting it. Wild claimed Blupees were extremely skittish. (It sounded like Linebeck's spirit animal, to be honest.) It was best to hit them from afar, but even then you'd probably only get a couple licks in. Wind and Four needed more than a couple licks if they wanted to replace all the rupees that had been stolen from the Minishs' stores.

Hence, their plan: capture the Blupee and beat it senseless. Wind hoped it wasn't cute. He'd feel bad if it was cute. Wild assured him Blupees were somewhat immortal. Even so, Wind didn't feel comfortable shooting it with arrows like the champion had suggested. His boomerang would get the job done just fine.

"You ready?" Wind asked.

"Just about," Four returned, securing his Pegasus boots and adjusting the Roc's Cape around his shoulders.

"Give me your boomerang too," Wind said. "Then I'll be able to hit it twice as much."

"Good idea," Four commended, handing over the item. The yellow boomerang looked identical to Wind's, but Four didn't appear worried about him mixing them up.

"Mine's magic," he explained when Wind voiced this. "You can control it once you throw it. Or, well, _I_ can. I don't know if it'll work for you. Try it."

Reeling back his arm, Wind hurled the boomerang at a tree. It thwacked the trunk and returned to his hand. He pouted, disappointed.

"You didn't do it right," Four insisted. "Try it again, but draw its path with your eyes. Look at where you want it to go, not where you expect it to go."

This time, the magic boomerang worked. Wind weaved it between trees, directed it to glide across the tips of tall blades of grass, and even told it to burst through the tree-tops before returning to his waiting hand. "Cool."

"If I fail to catch the Blupee then you can chase it down with that," Four said.

Wind nodded eagerly.

Sufficiently armed, the two of them downed their sneaky elixirs—gagged down, to be specific. The muddy purple potion tasted absolutely foul, which came as a shock considering the typical tastiness of their cook's creations. Surely, with all his culinary skills, Wild could make it taste better. But that was a discussion for another time, Wind decided as he and Four positioned themselves back to back.

Despite knowing Four was there, the smithy's presence constantly slipped past his notice. If his back wasn't pressed to Four's, he would have sworn his friend had abandoned him. Wild's nasty potions were scarily effective. Wind couldn't even hear _himself_ breathe.

There was no way this Blupee was escaping.

Assuming they could find it, that is. Contrary to popular belief, the dark woods were filled with glowing bits of blue. Turns out, luminescent plants were abundant in Wild's Hyrule. Any other time, Wind would have labeled it as neat. Now, it was just annoying. Between the flickering fireflies and the bell-shaped flower bulbs emitting a soft blue glow, locating a blue animal proved to be near impossible. There were far too many flashes and too little of them were blue. Every time Wind thought he saw something, it had only been a trick fabricated by their less than ideal environment.

This Blupee hunt wasn't going well at all.

Just when Wind's legs began to cramp from standing in one place for so long, a rustling met his ears. He whipped his head toward the disturbance, knowing fully well it couldn't be Four. He was just as silent as Wind thanks to the elixir.

Another rustle…there! A bush far to his left shook. Wind squinted, grip tightening on the boomerangs. Was that…?

A glowing teal body burst from the underbrush. It was too far away for Wind to make out details, but it _had_ be their target. Nothing else in the forest was glowing blue and jumping out of bushes.

Wind hastily jabbed his elbow into the smithy's back while keeping his eyes trained on the Blupee.

The Hero of the Four Sword said nothing. He simply shared a silent nod with Wind, lowered his center of gravity, and activated his Pegasus Boots.

Four shot towards the Blupee like a bomb out of a cannon, and though Wind couldn't hope to match his speed, he broke into a run too. If Four missed, he would need backup.

Ahead of him, Four had reached the Blupee. Even with the sneaky elixir in his system, the animal noticed the small blacksmith. It hopped to the side. Four, in the process of unclasping his Roc's Cape, streaked right past it.

Dirt and grass flew as the small hero dug his heels into the ground to stop himself from crashing into a tree. He wasn't successful.

A quiet curse from Four assured Wind the boy was alright. That was good enough for him. The sailor wound back his arms and chucked both boomerangs at the fleeing animal.

It leaped over the first, but the second wouldn't be dodged so easily. Wind pressed it, following the luminescent creature with his eyes and encouraging the boomerang to do the same.

Unfortunately, the animal was far faster than he anticipated. He was losing ground fast. If it ran out of his sight the magic boomerang would be rendered useless. All too conscious of this fact, Wind sent the yellow blur spinning in front of the Blupee.

Too slow to react, the animal had its front legs wacked out from under it. The Bluepee released a high-pitched squeak and two rupees popped out of nowhere. Momentarily stunned by the sight, Wind ground to a halt and stared. The rupee-snatching animal had no such distractions. It swiftly hopped back to its feet and changed direction.

The magic boomerang, picking up on Wind's disorientation, returned to his hand.

Before he could gather his wits and throw either weapon again, Four bolted into his line of sight. He was on a collision course with the Blupee, white and blue-tipped cape billowing overhead like a sail.

The creature executed a sharp turn, hoping to throw off its pursuers. Unfortunately for the Blupee, Four had been expecting the change, and with a flourish of his Roc's Cape and a somewhat painful-looking skidding to his knees, the Blupee's glow was smothered by fabric.

"Now!" Wind didn't need Four's signal. He'd already released one boomerang towards the squirming bundle pinned down by his friend. The other followed shortly after.

The pieces of carved wood elicited another squeak from the Blupee as they struck the captured animal. Wind winced in sympathy. He'd accidentally hit himself with his boomerang plenty of times. Never once had he escaped without a bruise. Maybe Blupees couldn't die, but were they capable of being injured?

The thought nearly stilled his hand. In fact, it would have if not for the green rupee that peeked out from beneath the fabric. The Blupee was a thief. It had stolen from the Picori and was ruining their helpful image. Maybe Wind and Four couldn't stop it from taking the spoils from tall grass but they could at least reprimand it. Make it think twice about continuing its thieving career.

Encouraged by the noble notion, Wind allowed the magic boomerang to strike the rupee thief once more. After another hit, the gentle glow winked out.

Wind held his boomerang firmly and called Four's back to his hand. Dread pooled in his stomach as he jogged closer. Had he killed it?

Probably wondering the same, Four stretched out on his stomach and cautiously—ever so cautiously—peeled up an edge of the fabric. He must not have liked what he saw because he shot upright, ripping the cape off the ground.

A pile of glittering red, blue and, green gems winked up at them.

But no Blupee.

"Where'd it go?" Wind cried, falling to his knees and frantically shifting through the small hill of rupees. Please don't let him be a Blupee killer…

"I don't know." A deep frown marred Four's face as he held up the Roc's Cape, inspecting its fibers for clues.

"You don't think I hit it too hard, do you?" Wind worried, crawling closer to Four to scrutinize the cape for himself. There was no Blupee goo indicating an injury. That made him feel a little better.

Four's next words helped too. "No. It's obviously magical in nature. I think it just…" Four tossed the fabric in the air, letting it gently float down into his lap. "Poofed."

"Blooped." Wind giggled, relieved.

"Blooped," Four agreed with a smile.

They turned their attention to the rupees the Blupee had left behind. The sight of the mini gem mountain reminded them of their success.

The boys shared a celebratory high five, left-over adrenaline from the hunt surging through their veins and painting goofy smiles on their faces.

Neither could deny the Blupee was a worthy foe. It was also rather cheap, which they found as they collected their spoils. At second glance, they weren't as grand as they looked earlier. The array of multicolored gems fit snugly in Wind's and Four's hands with no danger of overflowing. There was no way the rupees they'd recovered were _all_ the Minish had lost.

"Want to go on another Blupee hunt tomorrow?" Four asked as they trekked over to the Minish's special tree.

Wind didn't even have to think about it. "Definitely! Now that we know what we're up against we could totally get more rupees out of it."

"Exactly what I was thinking!"

The duo fervently began devising a plan of action for the next night. While their performance tonight hadn't been atrocious, it had been lacking in the productivity department. Even the Minish noted as much when the pair of heroes delivered their rupees.

That wasn't to say the Picori weren't grateful. In fact, they tried to reward each boy with a green rupee. Both politely refused the gift. The Blupee hunt had been reward enough. Being on a worlds-saving quest did not offer many non-life threatening opportunities for fun, after all.

With a promise to shower the Minish in a Hylian-sized mountain of rupees the next day, Wind and Four bid their farewells and set off for the Kakariko inn.

"How'd the hunt go?" Wild asked as soon as they walked in the door. The other Links were already gathered around a long wooden table, enjoying dinner. Judging by the amount of food on everyone's plates, Wind and Four weren't _too_ late.

"We got it!" Wind exclaimed, bouncing over to an empty seat. "You should've seen Four. He was like a god or something with his super-fast boots and fancy cape. The Blupee didn't know what hit it!"

"Oh stop," Four shoved him lightly in the shoulder. "Wind was awesome, too. He wielded those double boomerangs like some ancient Shiekah warrior." Wind laughed at the way his friend dropped his center of gravity and crossed his arms in front of his face, pantomiming holding two weapons in clenched fists. Four's eyes narrowed, shifting from side-to-side like a sneaky ninja person.

"Glad to hear you two had fun," Time said. "Do sit down and eat though. If I recall, neither of you ate lunch."

"I tried to make them!" Wild objected. "But they were too excited about the Blupee."

Wind and Four shared a sheepish look between bites of meat and mushroom. Skipping lunch had been worth it.

"How much did you get from it, by the way?"

"About…50?" Wind recalled, pausing to scratch an itch on his ankle.

"58," Four said. "But we didn't keep them."

"Wait wait wait," Legend interjected, waving his skewer in the air to call for a time out. "Let me get this straight. You two go on a hunt for some mystical creature that poops rupees—"

Wild nearly choked on his next bite, causing a half-concerned, half-amused 'Rule to pat the champion on the back. Wind and Four collapsed into a fit of raucous laughter.

"I-it doesn't _poop_ rupees!" Four managed between giggles.

"Yeah, it drops them when you hit it," Wild explained once he regained some semblance of control. Wind shattered it with his own laughter. A rupee-pooping Blupee! Imagine that!

"Same difference," Legend claimed, his signature scowl adorning his face. "The point is, you found this thing, got rupees from it, and didn't even keep them?!"

"Yup!" Wind chirped, reigning in his mirth as best he could. "We hunted it down for the Minish, not ourselves."

Four nodded enthusiastically. "The Blupee has been stealing the rupees they normally hide for Hylians to find." He turned to address Wild. "That's why you can never find rupees in tall grass."

Wild's mouth formed a round "o" of understanding.

"Still!" Legend cried, evidently dissatisfied with their reasoning. "If the Minish usually hide them _for_ Hylians then there's no reason you can't keep them. You're Hylian. The rupees still end up in Hylian hands."

"That's not the point," Four claimed.

"It is the point," Legend retorted, jabbing his half-eaten skewer at the smithy.

"Nah uh!" Wind objected, leaning forward in his seat so he had a better view of Legend sitting at the other end of the table. "The Minish have to hide them. Otherwise it's not fun!"

"Fun? Getting money isn't supposed to be fun—"

The dinner table then devolved into a heated debate over the morality of keeping rupees bound for hiding places. Surprisingly, the group was divided nearly down the middle on the issue, with some claiming the rupees belonged to the Minish until they hid them, and others asserting the Minish had no right to the currency since they couldn't actually use it. Back and forth they went on the matter, loudly proclaiming opinions, and firing off counterpoints with false venom.

Eventually the discussion glided into more light-hearted territory as they all recalled odd places they'd found rupees. The Minish really liked hiding money in pots.

When Wind and Four mentioned going out for another hunt the following night, Wild perked up.

"You can get at least a hundred rupees from a Blupee, easy," Wild informed them. "All you gotta do is bomb them. Bomb arrows work wonders."

Wind brightened at the notion but Twilight, Time, and Sky—arguably the most responsible members of the group—quickly shut it down.

"Absolutely not!"

"Boys, don't even think about it. I will not condone a forest being burned down for any reason."

"Surely there's a less violent way…"

"We won't burn anything down," Wind promised. The Minish lived in those woods along with probably dozens of animals. He had no desire to harm them or their home.

"Or blow anything up," Time added, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"Or blow anything up," Wind and Four parroted.

Despite their obedience, the man's single eye still bored into them with distrust.

"I'll go along with them next time," Wild said, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. "Supervise them and all that."

"You're the last person I trust to supervise," Twilight commented, arms crossed over his chest in an attempt to look intimidating. Wind thought he managed it just fine, but Wild remained unfazed, challenging Twi's authority with an indignant, "Rude!"

"I say let them go," Warrior spoke up from where he and Hyrule were collecting dishes for washing. "Should be entertaining."

"It won't be entertaining when everything's on fire," Twilight shot back.

"I think that would be plenty entertaining," Hyrule commented. At the twin glares Time and Twilight shot his way, 'Rule ducked his head and became inexplicably fascinated with the stack of plates and cups in his hands. He scurried off to the inn's kitchen. Warrior shrugged and followed.

"Look, I promise we're not going to destroy the forest. No fires or anything," Wild said.

Four nodded in agreement, and Wind slapped on his best innocent child face for good measure.

It didn't work quite the way he'd anticipated.

"If you go with them tomorrow night, you're taking Sky with you," Time declared.

Wind's expression soured. Sky was nice and all but he didn't exactly approve of shenanigans. Especially if those shenanigans were of the dangerous variety. If something, like bombing a Blupee, were to occur in his presence… well, it wouldn't. Sky would not let them get that far.

Despite knowing this, Wild agreed. He shot Wind and Four a wink. Somehow, someway, there would be explosions.

* * *

Wind was so excited for the next day's hunt that it took hours for him to fall asleep. Therefore, one can imagine his irritation at being awoken in the dusty gray hours of early morning by an intense itching sensation.

It crept along his hands and wound up his ankles. In desperate need of relief, Wind raked his nails across the itchy spots. Stupid mosquitoes.

They must have bit him a bajillion times with how many little bumps he felt dotting his skin. Wind stole a glance at the boy curled up on the bed beside him. Four must have gotten bit too. However, if he had, the mosquitoes must not have liked the taste of him much because the smithy was sleeping peacefully.

Attempting to drift back into dream land himself, Wind flopped onto his back. Turned on his side. Scratched one hand. Then the other. Then both his ankles.

Paused.

And kept scratching. And scratching, and scratching, and scratching until it stung and he was sure he'd drawn blood, but the lighting was too poor for him to confirm. He tried to stop. Getting blood on the inn's sheets wouldn't be good. He kicked the blanket off just in case, belatedly realizing he was sharing it with Four.

The smithy grumbled something unintelligible, yanking the blanket back and turning on his other side. Wind winced and switched to rubbing for relief.

He managed to close his eyes for maybe five seconds before the itching returned with a vengeance. The unpleasant, tickling sensation kept him tossing and turning for at least half an hour. In that time, Four nearly woke up twice and did wake up once to tell him ever-so-kindly to "knock it off!" Wind apologized and did his best to keep all movement to a minimum. However, that proved to be impossible with phantom bugs crawling under his skin, and that was about when Wind decided enough was enough.

He got up and stuffed his feet into his boots. Sleep had officially sailed off without him.

Quiet as a Picori, Wind crept out of the room he shared with Four, Hyrule, Warrior, and Sky.

Moving didn't stop the itching, but it did make it harder to scratch his ankles so Wind considered it progress. He picked his way down the creaky staircase, wincing at every squeal of the floorboards. Someone should really replace them.

Once outside, Wind utilized the better lighting to inspect his hands. The sight that greeted him dropped his heart to his toes. Splotches of aggressive pink were splattered across his skin. Definitely not mosquito bites, though he could see how it felt that way in the dark. Lines of welts cut paths between, and in some cases over, the rash. All his scratching hadn't helped either, cracking the skin open for speckles of red to shine forth.

Flipping his palms over proved they weren't much better.

His mind raced for an explanation. Had it been something he'd eaten? He couldn't think of anything abnormal he'd consumed recently. Maybe it was something he'd touched? But that was equally impossible. He hadn't touched anything strange. Well, the Minish were kind of new but he'd touched one before in Four's Hyrule and this hadn't happened. A bug bite, then? One native to Wild's Hyrule? Infected by malice, maybe?

The thought sent his heart skittering in fear, and Wind swiftly shook his head to dismiss it. Then his hands, to prove he still could. The thought was silly. Wild had defeated the calamity and all the nasty stuff had been wiped out. He ignored the tiny voice that reminded him black-blooded monsters were running rampant, so being infected by an evil insect was entirely possible.

Tugging his sleeves over his hands, Wind began to walk. Hopefully the fresh air would clear his head and his skin.

Unfortunately, Wind never got to find out because just a few moments into his walk he spotted Wild and Legend lounging by a cooking pot. He cast his gaze about for somewhere to hide. He didn't want them to see the rash. They'd only fuss over him, and it was probably nothing anyway. Probably.

"Wind!" Crap. Wild had spotted him. Was waving him over with a wooden spoon. He couldn't ignore _that_.

Stretching the fabric even farther over his hands and practically hearing his grandmother berate him for doing so, Wind approached the cooking pot.

"Hi, guys," Wind greeted them, forcing more cheer into his voice than he felt.

"Hey," Legend returned, barely sparing him a glance as he sipped from a wooden cup. Wind couldn't tell what it was. Tea, maybe?

"What are you doing up so early?" Wild asked as he perused through his slate. Apparently the wooden spoon hadn't been a sufficient enough utensil for whatever he was cooking. "Nightmare too?"

Wind should have said yes. But he was an idiot so he said, "No." Then realized he needed an excuse other than the truth. He fiddled with his sleeves. "I mean…I just…I couldn't really sleep anymore?" There. That wasn't a lie. But it sounded like one the way he said it.

Despite that, neither hero pressed.

"Want to help me make breakfast?" Wild offered.

Wind considered his sleeved hands. "Isn't it a little early for that?"

Wild shrugged. "Not for us."

"I'm not really hungry right now," he claimed. "I was going to take a walk."

"Oh, alright. Have fun, then." Wild waved him off, and Wind, practically vibrating with nerves, turned to leave.

He took about three steps before Wild's exclamation of alarm froze him in place.

"Whoa, Wind! Wait a minute. Come back. What did you do?"

Slowly Wind swiveled on his heel to face the champion. Maybe if he played dumb… "What do you mean?"

"Your legs!"

Wind glanced down. The rash on his legs was just as angry looking as the one coating his hands, and he had no way of covering it. "Nothing."

"That is not nothing," Legend objected over the rim of his wooden cup.

"Well, it's something, but I don't know what," Wind admitted, refusing to look at the others.

"Come here. Let me see," Wild requested.

"It's fine," Wind insisted, taking a step back.

"No, seriously, let me look." The champion's no-nonsense tone sent another bolt of fear through him. It wasn't often Wild was serious about anything. If he had dropped his usual blasé manner then that meant he suspected the rash on Wind's skin was something incredibly dangerous. In that case, Wind wasn't sure he wanted to know. Yet, if Wild knew what it was, maybe he had a remedy to cure it.

The thought kept him from running when Wild approached. The scarred hero crouched to scrutinize the irritated skin.

"Does it itch?"

"A lot," Wind confirmed, squirming uncomfortably.

Wild absorbed this information with pursed lips and a barely perceptible nod. "When you were playing in the woods yesterday did you happen to touch any plants? Like…leafy plants?"

"Only clovers," Wind reported.

"Are you sure?"

Wind bit his lip. He wasn't.

Wild must have been able to tell because he said, "Describe what the clovers looked like."

"Um…three round leaves sprouting from one stem," he recalled. "They were green and there was a whole bunch of them close together."

"Were the leaves about this big?" Wild held his fingers a few inches apart."

Wind nodded.

"Glossy?"

"Kind of."

"You played in a patch of this stuff?" Legend interjected, a smile creeping onto his face.

Wind didn't like that look. "Yeah…?"

Legend doubled over with a guffaw, nearly spilling his drink.

"Ignore him," Wild advised with a roll of his eyes.

Wind found it difficult to ignore the veteran when he was wheezing on the ground. Something was hilarious, and Wind had a nagging feeling it was him. He rubbed his itching hands together anxiously.

"Wild, what is it?" he pleaded. The suspense was killing him. Maybe literally.

"Either poison ivy or poison oak."

"Poison?!" Wind exclaimed. His voice shook. "Am I going to die?"

Legend's laughter increased in volume, and Wind thought that answered his question well enough because surely his fellow hero wouldn't be laughing if he was dying. …Right?

"No, no, no! No one's dying," Wild hastily assured him, raising his hands and standing. He backed away a little.

The sailor took a step forward "Are you sure?"

Wild stepped back. "Positive."

"Then why do you keep backing up?" That couldn't bode well.

"I—"

"Because he doesn't want to be scratching his skin off too," Legend piped up with a smirk.

"I'm going to scratch my skin off?" Wind whimpered, curling his arms around his stomach. He didn't feel so well.

"No! You're not. You're fine!" The itchy red rash begged to differ, but Wind continued to listen for his own peace of mind. "It's just that it's contagious, okay? Like, _really_ contagious, and it's not fun to deal with as you can probably tell by now."

Wind could definitely attest to that. "Can you fix it?"

Wild gritted his teeth, gaze drifting away from Wind. No, then. "There's something that can help with the itching, I think? We'll wake 'Rule and ask him. He'll know."

Leaving Legend cackling at the cooking pot like some deranged witch, Wild and Wind reentered the inn and trudged upstairs. Wind waited in the hallway with specific instructions to _"not touch anything!"_ while Wild woke Hyrule.

The sleepy-eyed traveler swiftly snapped out of his drowsiness at the sight of Wind's legs and hands. He hissed in sympathy.

"Can you heal it?" Wind wondered, picking at a pesky welt.

"Stop that," Hyrule ordered, raising his hand to swat Wind's fingers away, then thinking better of it. "And no, I can't. It'll heal on its own in a couple weeks."

Wind groaned. He didn't think he could tolerate this amount of itching for another hour, let alone another week.

"I do have some lotion you can put on to relieve the itching," 'Rule mentioned. "But first that you need to take a bath and wash your clothes and whatever else you touched. That goes for anyone you touched and whoever touched you yesterday, too."

"And that will stop it from itching so much?" Wind wondered.

"Not really, but it will stop you from spreading it. Poison ivy and poison oak are only contagious if you get the plant's oils on you.

"It is?" Apparently this was news to Wild.

"Yes. And didn't you touch him last night?"

"I-" Wild paused, taking a moment to think. His eyes grew wide as dinner plates. "Dear Hylia, I did!"

Hyrule sighed. "And you just touched me to wake me up."

"I touched Four!" Wind realized, flashing back to their high-five. He gasped. "And the Picori! Ohmygoshthey'resotinywhatiftheydie?!"

Before anyone could stop him, Wind raced into the bedroom and shook Four awake.

"Four, wake up! I got poisoned, and Wild and 'Rule say it's super contagious, and I touched you so you're probably poisoned, and the Minish! I think I poisoned them, too!"

The smithy blinked blankly up at him. "You…what?"

"Sailor, what's with all the screaming?" Warrior's sleep-drugged voice met his ears.

"I'm poisoned!"

The announcement woke Warrior up quick. He eyed Wind in concern. "Excuse me, you're what?"

"He touched poison ivy," 'Rule clarified from the doorway.

"Or oak," Wild added. "We're not sure but he definitely has a rash."

Four shoved him off. "Then don't touch me!"

"You're already infected! That's what I'm saying," Wind explained. "I touched it yesterday in the woods and then—"

"Why in the world would you touch poison ivy?" Four demanded.

"I didn't _know_ it was poison. I thought they were clovers!"

"How do you mix up—?!" Catching Wind's teary gaze, Four cut himself off with a ragged sigh. He closed his eyes and placed a hand to his temple. "You know what? Never mind. I suppose we have to wash off now, don't we?"

"Yes, but what do we do about the Picori?"

The headband-wearing hero's eyes flicked subtly back and forth, as if he was reading an invisible book. "We'll pay them a visit," Four decided. "See what's going on. If they need help, we'll provide it."

"The poison plant won't kill them, will it?" Wind worried.

"I don't think so. Come on. We'll go right now," Four said, slipping out of bed and into his footwear. Wind scratched anxiously at his legs.

"You two need to take a bath now," 'Rule advised. "Wind, especially.

"Alright, then. I'll check by myself, then come back and take a bath. I'll be right back." With that, Four scurried out of the room.

"Everyone should probably take a bath," Warrior commented. "Even if we haven't touched Wind or Four, I'm sure they've touched a bunch of things in the inn. We could have the oil on us and not even know it."

Hyrule nodded in approval. "Wake Sky. I'll get Time and Twilight."

"We'll meet you guys at the pond," Wild said, steering Wind out of the room. Apparently being equipped with the knowledge that he was already infected caused the champion to throw all caution out the window. Wind wouldn't have minded if Wild already had the rash, but he didn't. There was a chance Wild wouldn't have to deal with it, and Wind didn't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else. His lack of botanical knowledge had already caused enough pandemonium.

Due to the early hour, a group of men and boys stripped down to their underwear in the village's pond didn't disturb anyone. Wind wasn't sure if it was really okay to bathe in the water, but when he voiced his reservations, Wild insisted it was fine. The pond ran off into a nearby river, so it wasn't like they were tainting it or anything. Besides, it was much more spacious than the inn's washroom. They'd only irritate the staff by asking them to draw nine baths one after the other to minimize contamination. This way, they could all bathe without bothering anyone and have hot water too, courtesy of Legend's fire rod.

Wind couldn't deny it felt nice and instantly set to scrubbing with generous amounts of soap to ensure not a speck of poisonous oil remained on his skin or in his hair.

True to his word, Hyrule gifted Wind with a bottle of rosy pink lotion after he was clean and dressed in fresh clothes. Spreading the cream over his skin did not bring instant relief, but it did dramatically diminish the itching to a level where he could, more or less, resist scratching.

Sky volunteered to wash everyone's clothes and the inn's sheets and, feeling guilty, Wind joined him. After all, it had been his mistake that put a damper on everyone's day. Plans, including the Blupee hunt, had been canceled. At least he could take comfort in the fact the Minish were immune to poison ivy. Small miracles, he supposed.

The miracle, unfortunately, didn't last. While their rigorous cleaning session had mitigated the spread of the poison ivy, it didn't stop it. Four still found himself stuck with an itchy rash identical to Wind's a day later. Wild did too, though his case wasn't nearly as severe. Just a splotch or two on his arm.

Nevertheless, Wind apologized profusely throughout the next miserable week and a half as the three of them applied and reapplied calamine lotion and did their best to not scratch themselves raw.

Neither hero blamed him. In fact, Four insisted it was _his_ fault because he'd given Wind a vague description, and then sent him on his way. Wind disagreed. If he'd been a little more like the others he would have known which plants to stay away from. Because he wasn't, he'd dragged his friends into his suffering.

Wind could bear being ignorant as long as it didn't affect anyone else. Once it did, well, he couldn't forgive himself. Silently, Wind resolved to do better. He asked Wild and Hyrule to show him which plants were dangerous as they traveled, and the pair were more than happy to comply. Hopefully, Wind could avoid any more plant-related mishaps in the future.


	6. Pirates Don't Pillage

Royal blue banners emblazoned with the Hylian Crest crisscrossed above their heads, flapping in the breeze. At first glance they appeared to be suspended by nothing but when the sun caught them just right one could make out the thinnest of wires holding them up between buildings.

The buildings alone took Wind's breath away. They stretched to the heavens, even taller than the Great Deku Tree. The construction alone must have taken centuries and even though Wind didn't consider himself to be infatuated with architecture, he did appreciate the time put into it. He thought the others would too, but when he glanced at them, they just looked irritated.

"Are your towns always this crowded?" 'Rule piped up, timidly eyeing the sea of people flooding the streets.

"Yeah, you get used to it," Warrior said with an indifferent shrug. As if the beautiful decorations and grand edifices weren't impressive. As if the sheer amount of _people_ were insignificant. To Warrior, Wind supposed they were. He'd grown up here. A city boy, as Legend liked to say.

Wind had always considered Windfall Island a city. It was the busiest most bustling town on the Great Sea, after all. Now, standing at the entrance of Warrior's Hyrule Castle Town, Wind realized Windfall wasn't even a _town_. Windfall may have boasted some tall buildings and a lighthouse and a Ferris wheel, but it was glaringly empty. One could walk anywhere without being impeded by foot traffic. Here, that was impossible. People were packed so tightly together they appeared to be a single unit, a tumultuous sea with waves cresting and falling. Already, Wind could feel himself being pulled in—though that may have just been the person that shoulder-checked him on the way past.

Twi grabbed his arm and tugged him closer. Wind pouted at the action, but he wasn't really annoyed. As fascinating as the city was, it was also incredibly daunting. All the different sounds and smells and people overwhelmed his senses.

"Everyone is sticking together," Time asserted.

"Of course," Warrior agreed. "I know the city well, but if any of you got lost I can't promise I'd be able to find you."

"That's reassuring," Legend muttered with a roll his eyes.

"If you're worried, Vet, you can hold my hand," Warrior offered cheekily, extending his open palm to Legend.

Legend slapped the invitation away. "I can find the way to the castle without your help."

Warrior grinned. "You want to bet on that?"

"No, he does not," Time answered before Legend could embrace the challenge. "No one is running ahead."

Legend grumbled but made no further comment as the nine of them were sucked into the crowd.

Despite Warrior's earlier joke about holding hands, the Links did end up holding onto each other in some way, even Legend.

Wind never knew so many bodies could be such a powerful force. It was almost like a whirlpool. They were at the mercy of the tide. Hopefully it steered them towards the castle eventually.

At the moment, they'd been swept into the marketplace proper. Wind gawked at the array of stalls and vendors lining the cobble-stoned street. Not one sold the same wares.

"Don't steal anything, now," Warrior said, jostling Wind's hand to get his attention. "That's not cool in any Hyrule besides your own."

First of all, Wind lived above Hyrule so anything he salvaged from the ocean floor couldn't be considered stealing. Second of all… "Why would I steal anything?" He'd been raised better than that.

"You're a pirate, aren't you?"

"My friends are pirates," Wind said, brow furrowed. What was Warrior getting at?

The captain shrugged. "Same difference."

"No, it isn't." Wind frowned. Just because he traveled on a pirate ship with his pirate friends didn't automatically make him a pirate. Sure, Niko called him swabbie and all that, but he wasn't actually part of Tetra's crew. She'd offered, of course, but he didn't exactly want to strike fear into people's hearts like she did. Being a sailor was good enough for him.

"Have you gone on raids with them?"

"On what?"

"Raids," Warrior repeated. "You know, go to a place, cause havoc, steal things?"

Wind nearly tripped. Was that what Warrior thought pirates did? That wasn't true at all! "Pirates don't do that." At least, not the human kind. Monsters had no morals so they weren't above such heinous acts, but Tetra and her crew weren't monsters.

Behind him, Legend guffawed. "What rock have you been living under, kid? Yes, they do."

"No, they don't!" Wind protested. He'd known the pirates for a full year and a quarter, and in all that time they hadn't caused the type of mayhem Warrior was suggesting. Whenever they stocked up on supplies at Windfall, they paid for it.

"Hey!" Legend called to the rest of the group, completely ignoring the glare Wind was sending his way. "Who here has encountered pirates on their journey?"

"I have," Time spoke up. "Why?"

"Do me a favor and tell me what kind of activities pirates engage in for a living."

The Hero of Time cast his gaze to the sky. "I believe that would be raiding, pillaging, and plundering."

Wind blinked. He had no idea what any of those words meant.

Fortunately for him, Legend delighted in gloating and inadvertently explained. "See? Even the old man said it. Pirates are notorious for burning down villages and stealing valuables. They're not good people."

Wind gasped as if he'd been slapped. He came to a stop in the middle of the market, heedless of Warrior's and strangers' protests alike, and rounded on Legend. "Take that back! My friends are good people!" Without the pirates' help he would never have been able to rescue his sister, much less save the world.

The Hero of Legend rolled his eyes back into his skull at Wind's apparent misunderstanding. "I'm not saying your friends are bad people. I'm just saying they make bad decisions."

Wind stomped his foot, irate. "They do not! They don't do any of that stuff you said."

"Then they're not pirates. Problem solved," Legend declared, crossing his arms confidently over his chest.

"They are pirates," Wind objected. Tetra and her crew were the terror of the seas. People listened to them for that very reason.

"Guys, this really isn't the place—" Twilight tried only to be drowned out by Legend.

"If they don't steal, then they can't be pirates." The pink-haired boy smirked, like he won the argument, but Wind refused to grant him the satisfaction.

"They do steal."

Legend tsked. "You just said they didn't. Get your story straight."

Wind seethed, about to reply when Time laid a heavy hand on both their shoulders. "Boys, you can't stop in the middle of a crowded market. Keep moving."

He nudged them both forward, forcing them to either face plant on the cobblestones or walk. Wind and Legend wisely chose to walk.

"No more arguing," Time ordered. The oppressive weight lifted off Wind's shoulder. "Leave it for later."

Normally he would obey his elders, especially the Hero of Time. However, Wind couldn't leave this until later. At the moment, Legend thought he was right and that Tetra and her crew weren't even pirates. On top of that, he thought Wind was a hypocrite because he'd contradicted himself. Neither one was true. He _had_ to correct him.

Therefore, after a full thirty seconds of walking with nothing but the boisterousness of the marketplace to fill the silence, Wind turned to address Legend. "Tetra and her crew don't steal often, but when they do it's because someone deserves it."

He expected Legend's scoff, but that didn't make it sting any less. "Sure."

"No one deserves to have their property stolen," Warrior said. At least he sounded like he believed him about the pirates stealing.

"Most people don't," Wind agreed. "But this one guy definitely did! He owns the only bomb shop on the Great Sea and his prices used to be outrageous! No one could afford them."

"No one? Or just you?" Legend sneered.

" _No one_ ," Wind stressed, doing his best to ignore the jibe. "Unless you have ten thousand rupees to blow on ten bombs."

"For ten?!" Warrior exclaimed, aghast.

Wind nodded. "For twenty, it's twenty thousand. Thirty: thirty thousand."

"That's highway robbery," Legend observed with obvious disgust.

"Exactly! That's why Tetra and her crew set him straight." He raised his chin, chest swelling with pride. "They swooped in, tied him up, and stole all his bombs. After that, his prices were much more reasonable."

"Wow, that's…that's actually kind of noble," Warrior remarked with newfound appreciation.

Legend swiped his fingers through his hair with a heavy sigh. "Yeah, alright. I'll give it to you. Your friends are officially the nicest pirates I've ever heard of."

Wind beamed.

"That's not a compliment."

"I'm taking it as one," he declared. "And I think Tetra would take it as one too." Tetra's displeased expression whenever anyone called her Zelda or princess flashed into his mind's eye. "Maybe."

Warrior chuckled. "Why maybe?"

"Because she likes people to think she's tough—and she is!" Wind hastily amended even though there was zero chance of Tetra hearing him. "But she's also really nice."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. Those bombs she stole? She didn't keep them all. She gave some to another shopkeeper so he could sell them. And she let me take some too." He decided not to mention that he had played a game to "win" them, and that she'd been fully prepared to race him for Nayru's Pearl. Not that she could've won with the endless night and all but she hadn't know that. Or maybe she had. It could explain why she'd given him until morning… In any case, he knew she'd been worried about his island. She'd stolen the bombs in an attempt to protect it, not to chase after some treasure. He'd overheard as much even if she refused to admit it to her crew.

"So…" Warrior leaned his right forearm lightly on Wind's shoulder as they walked. "You and Tetra."

"What about us?"

"You two are good friends?"

"Best friends," Wind chirped. It hadn't always been that way, but saving the world together turned out to be a fantastic bonding activity.

" _Ooh_ , best friends huh?" Warrior asked conversationally, leaning his weight onto Wind even more. "You sure about that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He couldn't help the hint of wariness that crept into his tone. Warrior was acting weird.

"No reason!" the captain claimed, straightening and raising his hands to convey his innocence. Wind didn't trust him. "It's just that you're a boy…and she's a girl…" Warrior eyed him meaningfully, eyebrows raised.

Wind stared up at him, uncomprehending.

The scarf-wearing hero wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Then, like a puzzle-piece sliding into place, it clicked.

"Ew, no!" Wind exclaimed shoving Warrior away without success on account of the jam of people.

The captain laughed and pulled him closer, looping his arm around Wind's neck in a headlock and ruffling his hair much harder than necessary.

With minimal difficulty, Wind wriggled out of it. "We are _not_ dating and never will be." He loved Tetra but not like _that._

"Never say never," Warrior chided, settling for draping his arm across Wind's shoulders. That was a trap the Hero of Winds could not escape. Mostly because there were too many people on the street.

Wind folded his arms. "Never. Romance stuff is gross."

"Sure, you say that now," Warrior drawled. "But in a few years you'll feel differently."

"I don't think so."

"Okay, maybe not about Tetra, but about another girl. Like…that one." The captain pointed to a girl around Wind's age with a basket of flowers on her arm. "She's cute, huh?"

Wind hummed noncommittally. He didn't know what was so cute about her. Not that he was accusing her of looking _bad_ , per se. She was a decent-looking human being. She had a nose and a mouth and two eyes. All fantastic features, for sure, and _okay_ , Wind wasn't that blind. He could generally tell when people were good-looking and when they weren't, but the distinction never made him feel anything, except maybe jealous of a feature of two. Like with the girl Warrior just pointed out. He envied the way her dark curls bounced as she walked and mildly wondered if his hair did the same. But that was it.

"You're gross. Stop ogling children," Legend berated Warrior with exaggerated disgust contorting his features.

"I am not 'ogling children'. I was pointing her out for Wind's sake."

"You don't have to do that," Wind piped up, growing increasingly more uncomfortable by the second. "I'm really not interested."

"Oooh so you sway the other way? I gotcha. That's good, too. I'm impartial myself." Warrior began to scan the mob of bodies for another seemingly attractive individual.

Wind scrambled to stop him, tugging on Warrior's scarf. "Wait, no! I don't sway that way. I don't sway _any_ way!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"Well, it's true," Wind asserted, dropping the blue fabric and crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's _impossible_. You had to have had a puppy love when you were little." Warrior insisted. "A little, itty bitty crush?"

Wind shook his head. Something must have been wrong with him because he'd never experienced anything like that. Even worse, he didn't want to.

"Not even when you rescued all those girls from that fortress place?" Warrior tested, his tone suggesting he thought Wind was holding out on him. "There had to be a beautiful maiden amongst them. One you wanted to kiss."

Wind wrinkled his nose at the notion, thinking of Mila and Maggie. He had no desire to put his face anywhere near either one of their faces. He was certain they felt the same, too. Maggie had a Moblin boyfriend, and Mila, well, he wasn't exactly sure what her status was. Then again, he didn't really care.

He knew that wasn't the answer Warrior wanted, though. Should he lie? But what if that didn't end the awkward conversation? What if Warrior asked for details about his nonexistent crush? He'd have no idea what to say in that case. Yet, if he kept telling the truth, the captain definitely wouldn't leave him alone.

Fortunately, Wind didn't have to decide.

"Lay off, War." Twilight's voice had never sounded so pleasant to his ears. "He's too young for that stuff."

"No, he isn't. He's exactly the right age!" Warrior protested.

"Everyone's different," Sky piped up. "I didn't start noticing my feelings for Zelda until I was fifteen."

"And you haven't stopped noticing her since," Legend teased. The other guys laughed raucously at the lovesick blush on Sky's face. Sky didn't seem to mind, though. He just launched into an oddly poetic spiel about how wonderful his Zelda was.

It was sweet but also kind of private. Wind did his best not to listen, both out of respect and out of a lack of understanding.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't grasp the concept of romance. The way Warrior ogled and flirted with strangers made love look fleeting and insignificant. A game, almost. This seemed rather cruel to Wind since he thought romance was heavily emotion based. No one Warrior flirted with seemed to mind, though.

The way Sky talked about it, made the emotion sound like soaring through a sky full of cotton-candy clouds, warm sunshine, and double rainbows.

Wind didn't know what to make of Legend's explanation. The veteran cynically declared love "a nightmare you'll never want to wake up from" and really, what was he supposed to do with _that_? It contradicted Sky's sunny words so much that it made Wind's head spin.

Then there was Time and Malon. They were married which encouraged Wind to regard them as a better definition of love. Marriage was a serious commitment, after all. People only pledged themselves to each other that way if they _really_ loved each other. Wind knew that, but even though he'd seen Time and Malon together, he still didn't understand what attracted them to each other. He was happy for them, of course, but he could never imagine himself exchanging passionate kisses with anyone. In fact, the mere thought made him feel icky.

Twilight assured him he would understand when he was older, and Wind smiled and nodded in agreement because he knew that was what was expected of him. However, deep down, Wind knew he would never get it.

He wasn't like the others.


	7. The Joys of Snow...and Snow Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone that has been reading and/or commenting on this story! I was especially nervous about posting yesterday's chapter, but it was so well received that now I feel silly for worrying. Thanks for accepting aro/ace Wind. ^v^   
> I hope you enjoy today's chapter. :)  
> ~Hylian Harmony

Traveling through portals was weird, and no matter how much Wind did it, he didn't think he would ever get used to it. All senses were muffled inside and many senses simply didn't exist.

At first, it was a bit like having a cold that clogged your ears and sinuses and put a weight on your chest so it was difficult to breathe but not impossible. Then the inky purple pitch transformed into the most expansive, yet minuscule, pinprick of black Wind had ever experienced.

Space didn't exist there and neither did time. The revelation always sent Wind's heart skittering, but he could hardly feel it because the dimensional rift numbed his sense of touch. Needless to say, this made moving forward—hypothetically forward, of course, because there were no directions in that place—extremely difficult. He always likened it to slogging through ChuChu jelly, though ChuChu jelly was oddly warm and temperature was never a factor in portals. Therefore, when a chill rattled his bones before he'd stepped fully out of the portal, Wind knew they were in for it.

White blinded him, and he sucked in a breath of air so cold and so fresh it lined his whole airway with ice. Shivers wracked his frame less than a second later. It was all he could do to stumble out of the way of the person coming out of the portal behind him.

Legend's colorful curse as he entered the frozen wasteland just about summed up Wind's feelings on their new location.

"You wouldn't be so cold if you wore pants," Warrior mentioned casually as he draped the end of his scarf over Wind. The fabric was rather thin, but he accepted it gratefully nonetheless. The more layers between him and the elements, the better.

Clutching a glowing red rod to his chest, Legend used his free hand to make an obscene gesture in the captain's direction.

"I'm cold, and I'm _wearing_ pants," 'Rule lamented, shuffling a little closer to Warrior. The captain took the hint and shared his scarf with the brunet. It was certainly large enough.

Twilight was the last to emerge from the portal, and once he did, it winked out of existence. There was no turning back now.

"Does anyone recognize this mountain?" Time asked, casting a critical eye around the area.

Wind didn't even bother. He knew it wasn't his. He had only experienced snow and ice on two occasions. One was Ice Ring Isle. The other: the Isle of Frost. Neither was as expansive, or as chilly, as this.

"It's mine," Wild announced, tapping furiously on his slate. At some point, his signature blue tunic and black cloak had been replaced by a warm-looking outfit stuffed with feathers. "We're in the Hebra Mountains. The East Summit to be specific."

"Where's the nearest stable?" Time questioned.

Wild stared forlornly at the tablet in his gloved hands. "Uh…"

"Not close?" Twilight guessed. The rancher was probably happy he'd decided to leave Epona at his village the last time they'd visited. There was no way the horse could have survived these temperatures with her thin coat. Neither could Wind, really.

"No, I think we'd be better off heading to Selmie's Spot."

"Whatever you think is best," Time said. "I trust this place is close?"

"Yup! It's only an hour away."

"An hour?!" Legend exclaimed with more fire behind his words than seemed possible in such a frigid environment. "We'll be icicles before then!"

"Not if I can help it," Wild declared, pulling several objects out of his slate and passing them around the group. Hyrule received a warm-looking tunic, undershirt and gloves, which he wasted no time in putting on.

Wind longed for similar clothing. However, he got a bottle of thick, bubbling crimson and orange liquid instead.

"Uh…what is this?" he asked, holding up the bottle and shooting a nervous glance Wild's way. He wanted to be warm, but drinking lava seemed a tad extreme.

"It's a spicy elixir," Wild explained as he handed a piece of jewelry to Warrior. "I made it myself. It should keep you warm for thirty minutes. I have three more, so let me know when you guys start feeling cold again."

"We drink it?" Four asked, regarding the contents of the bottle in his hand with the same trepidation as Wind.

At Wild's confirmation, Wind shared a skeptical look with his fellow Spicy Elixir buddies, Four and Legend.

"Well…bottoms up," Legend decided, uncorking the bottle and tipping his head back. His reaction, eyes bulging and steam nearly coming out of his ears, did not encourage Wind and Four to take the plunge as well.

"That—" Legend coughed. "—is absolutely foul. What did you put—" His eyes widened, hands flying to his midsection and for a second Wind feared Wild's potion was boiling the veteran's insides.

Wild grinned. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah, wha—how?!" Legend exclaimed. He scooped up some snow from the ground, staring at it intently as he cradled it in his bare palms. "I can hardly feel the cold."

That was all Wind needed to hear to uncork his own potion. Not feeling cold was very much something he wanted at the moment.

He took the same approach as Legend—and instantly regretted it. The sludge coated the entirety of his mouth and esophagus, setting them on fire. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the taste, bitter and ashy and strangely metal. He swallowed it with a grimace, sure it was about to come right back up.

Then, all at once, the fire dropped into his belly and a pleasant warmth began to radiate from his center. The ice freezing his blood and bones and shaking him to his core thawed, leaving a cozy warmth in its place, like he was wrapped in a dozen plush blankets.

He took a deep breath. The air that entered was cool at most. Definitely not cold, and yet his breath still produced a tiny cloud when he released it.

Beside him, Four had downed his own elixir and was marveling at the effects.

"Sorry I don't have enough supplies for everyone," Wild apologized. "But if the rest of you get too cold maybe Warrior can pass the Ruby Circlet around?"

"I'll be fine," Twilight said, pulling up the hood of his pelt.

"So will I," Time said.

"That's a load of crap, old man. All that armor is not going to keep you warm. Here." Warrior unwound his treasured scarf and tossed it to Time. He caught it, but didn't look happy about it.

"How are you holding up, Sky?" Twilight asked, turning all eyes to the Skyloftian. He had been strangely quiet, and Wind would have thought something wrong if not for the awed smile stretching the older man's lips.

"Never seen snow before?" Four guessed.

"No," Sky breathed. His hands were overturned, prepared to catch the snow falling gently from the overcast sky. "It's amazing."

"It can be dangerous," Wild warned. "Are you cold?"

"A little," Sky admitted. "But it's not so bad. Skyloft's always kind of cold, so I'm used to it."

"Let me know if you get too cold. I'll let you have a turn with this thing." Warrior tapped a finger against the ruby on his brow.

Sky hummed in acknowledgement, but it was obvious his head was still in the clouds.

"Let's get moving," Time said, his suggestion jolting Wild into taking the lead. "Sky."

"Yes?" The Skyloftian still hadn't torn his gaze away from the heavens.

"Try not to lag behind."

"Mmhmm."

"That goes for you, too," Legend sneered, elbowing Wind in the side as they began to move.

Wind glowered and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've seen snow before."

"Have you?"

"Yup! Twice." And not once did he find it fascinating. Well, maybe from afar, but up close it was clear snow and ice were not his friends. They were far too cold and slick for him to get along with. Even with Wild's potion taking care of the cold aspect, he didn't think he would be stopping to take in the frozen landscape like Sky anytime soon.

"Wow, a whole two times?" Legend exclaimed, eyes widening in false interest. Without warning, Legend cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled. "We've got an expert over he—"

Wind promptly shushed him by slapping a hand over Legend's mouth. He had to fight for it, being shorter and all, but he managed it. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.

Sky, who had definitely only been paying half attention but managed to catch the gist of their conversation nonetheless, suddenly turned around to face Wind. His eyes sparkled with lust for knowledge. "Are you? Can you tell me about snow?"

"No no no!" He raised his hands, waving them wildly to fend off Sky's questions. "I'm not, really! I mean…I know _of_ snow. But I just…it's…" His face was flushing, and it had nothing to do with the Spicy Elixir.

"I can tell you about snow," Four offered, sparing Wind from the spotlight. Once Sky turned his expectant gaze to Four, Wind shot a glare at Legend. The veteran just smirked.

"—similar to rain," Four was saying, "but if temperatures are low enough, like now, the moisture in the clouds form tiny ice crystals instead of water droplets."

"So it's ice?" Sky wondered. Wind stopped glaring daggers at Legend—it wasn't working anyway—and directed his attention upward, thinking the same. Usually ice was hard and compact, but the frigid flakes falling from the sky were soft and didn't hurt when they struck his skin.

"Essentially, yes. Each flake is composed of multiple, tiny ice crystals in random patterns. Not one snowflake looks exactly the same as another."

"Amazing," Sky breathed, eyes sparkling with awe. Wind thought it neat too, but he was a bit more skeptical about the claim that each snowflake was unique. They all looked like white dots to him.

"There are much more amazing things about snow than that," Warrior asserted.

"Really? Like what?" Wind wondered, curious despite himself.

"Snow likes to stick together so you can do _this_." Without breaking stride, Warrior grabbed a handful of snow and crushed it between his palms. He held up the result, a lumpy ball of snow, to make sure Wind and Sky could see it before turning and chucking it at Legend.

The snowball burst in a violent white blossom, and the veteran yelped, reeling back in surprise. He stumbled to a standstill, blinking owlishly as snow sloughed off his quickly reddening face.

Wind couldn't help it. He laughed. Legend looked so ridiculous with all that snow on his cheeks and in his hair! Four, Sky, and Warrior must have thought so too because they doubled over, bodies shaking with mirth.

Legend jabbed a finger at Warrior. "You're dead."

The proclamation only made the captain laugh harder.

"Don't kill each other!" Sky exclaimed, worry and amusement warring in his tone.

"No worries," Four assured the Skyloftian. "I've never heard of a snowball fight killing anyone." With that, Four scooped up some snow to mold into a ball, and Wind eagerly followed suit.

Making a snowball was slightly harder than Warrior had made it look, but the projectile Wind managed to make worked well enough judging by Warrior's howl as the powder slid down the back of his exposed neck.

Wind whooped at the success, pumping his fists in the air. His celebration was abruptly cut off by a snowball to the shoulder. The impact stung a bit but the warmth in his belly quickly kneaded it out. Even if it hadn't, Wind wouldn't have let a little pain stop him. He scooped up some more snow and let the white powder fly.

This was war.

Wild, Hyrule, and Twilight caught on to their game and joined in a minute later. It took Sky being hit a few times to convince the Skyloftian that he wouldn't hurt anyone by throwing the ball of snow he was rolling between his palms. Once he did, he became a worthy opponent. In fact, Wind found himself on the receiving end of the Chosen Hero's attacks more often than not. Twilight was another hard hitter, but Wind and Four fixed him by using their small statures to climb on top of him and stuff a bunch of snow down his tunic. He retaliated by shoving the two of them in a snow drift, so Wind figured they were even.

Time was the only one that hadn't joined in on the fun but after some teasing from Warrior, encouragement from Sky, and Wind's best puppy dog eyes, the Hero of Time caved.

Of course, the participation came with a price: they all had to continue moving toward their destination as they battled. The order was an easy one to fill. Snowball fighting required copious amounts of movement, so Wind didn't find it overly difficult to run forward as he pegged those behind him with snow.

The thrill of snowball fighting only wore off when Wild's potions did, and as Legend, Wind, and Four gagged down a second dose of the spicy, lava-like concoction, the Links agreed to a temporary truce. There would be no more snowballs thrown…until they reached Selmie's and had a proper spot to warm up afterwards.

At first, Wind was fine with the arrangement. He had gotten enough decent hits on Legend as payback for embarrassing him earlier and all the effort had caused him to work up a sweat. He needed to catch his breath. However, the more they walked, the more Wind noticed how sore his feet were. And how uninteresting the landscape was—full of gray and white, mostly white—and worst of all, how unchanging. It didn't feel like they were making any progress even though he knew they had been walking for at least half an hour. Seeking a distraction, Wind asked Warrior if there was anything else fun to do with snow.

That was how he found himself rolling snow between his palms to make a sphere. Beside him, Four and Sky did the same. When Warrior had mentioned snowmen, Wind immediately wanted to make one. Unfortunately, making a full-sized snowman on the go proved near impossible. After the snow boulder they'd managed to create rolled off the mountain twice, the trio had resigned themselves to making mini versions.

Sky had deviated from the snowman idea and was in the process of making a snow bird. That inspired Wind to try for a snow crab. Snow was much more willing to cooperate with a crafter than sand. Probably because it was already wet. He didn't need seawater to make particles stick to one another, and that made it rather easy to mold his creation the way he liked. He spent extra care on its claws, but it still came out lopsided. It didn't look much like a crab either.

The heat of his hands melted the sculpture before long, but he'd lost sand castles to one too many changes of the tide so he wasn't upset at its lack of permanence. Besides, it hadn't been that good anyway. Sky's bird looked better.

Barring the cold, Wind thought Aryll would love snow. She'd probably try to make a snow seagull if she were here, or drawing on her experience with sand, a snow castle. A snow castle. Huh. That was a thought. If he could make a snow structure big enough to stand in, his little sister would be ecstatic. He could already see the elated smile on her face when she got the pictograph in the mail. That decided it. Wind would make the biggest snow castle ever! Of course, such a large project would require help if he wanted to complete it before the group left the mountain.

Enlisting Sky's and Four's help was easy. Warrior posed more of a challenge, but Wind quickly discovered it wasn't because he was unwilling.

"Do you want to make a castle or an igloo?"

Wind tilted his head to the side. "Ee-gloo?" He giggled. It was a funny word. It also sounded made up.

" _Ig_ loo. It's a dome made of snow," Warrior explained. "The inside is hollow so you can sit or stand in it."

"It's also warm inside. The snow acts as an insulator," Four added, which made Wind less suspicious that the captain was pulling his leg.

A dome of snow with a warm center sounded neat, but if it was anything like he was picturing, it wouldn't be as grand or impressive-looking as a castle.

Before Wind could express this, a spray of white exploded in his peripherals. Only when a slender shape slithered up beside him did he realize what it was.

A Lizalfos.

He rolled out of range of its first attack, drawing his sword and shield. Lizalfos weren't native to the Great Sea, so he hadn't encountered any on his previous journeys. That didn't mean he was clueless when it came to fighting them, though. This specific type of monster had been an avid participant in countless ambushes. Therefore, the sailor knew to be cautious of their tails and swift movements.

Wind fell into the fight as naturally as breathing, bringing his shield up to block a wicked-sharp blade and sending his sword to meet the tail whipping his way. The attack pinged off rock hard scales, sending shockwaves up his arm. Strange. Usually he could severe the appendage with a decent swing.

Brushing aside the failure, Wind pressed on, parrying the Lizalfos's next strike. Sounds of fighting raged around him like a tempest, chaotic and all too familiar. There was no doubt in his mind they were surrounded by enemies.

Wind had been in plenty similar situations, but with the black blood oozing from the small hit he'd managed to make on his opponent coupled with the time limit of Wild's potions, Wind began to worry. Not only for himself but for the others, too. Four and Legend would be seriously hindered by the cold when their elixirs expired, and those without proper protection against the cold like Time, Twilight, and Sky were likely already struggling. They needed to end this fight quickly.

However, as another Lizalfos drew up beside him, Wind realized that was impossible. At least it was using a basic sword and shield. As he played defense, Wind wracked his brain for an item in his inventory that could possibly be useful.

When Wild called "Fire!" Wind was hesitant to heed the advice. After all, the champion did have an affinity for pyromania. His usual solution to problems involved violent, fiery explosions, and while Wind was guilty of using such tactics before, he didn't make a habit of it. Such destructive attacks were generally unpredictable and just as liable to kill him as they were to kill his enemy. However, in this scenario, Wild was correct. Wind discovered as much when he witnessed a Lizalfos burst into icy mist upon being pierced by one of Wild's flaming arrows.

Exchanging the weapons in his hands for his bow and quiver, Wind nocked a fire arrow of his own and let it fly. The Lizaflos bearing down on him puffed into a cloud of harmless vapor.

Wind didn't stop to celebrate. A quick glance around the area confirmed his suspicions. They were dealing with a Lizalfos battalion. Already, more were approaching.

Due to their serpentine-like way of moving, Wind was forced to wait until they were nearly upon him before firing. There was strong possibility he'd miss otherwise, and he had a limited supply of magic. Once he expended it, he would either need to recharge it with rest or a green potion. He had no time for the former and none of the latter so slightly reckless method it was. His magic conservation efforts earned him a graze on the arm, but it was shallow so he didn't grace it with more than an irritated glance as he distanced himself from the worst of the fighting.

Farther down the mountain, Wild had climbed to higher ground. Perched on a rocky ledge, the champion fired blazing arrow after blazing arrow into the fray. Wind was determined to follow his lead and fought his way to exposed rock. Once there, he shouldered his bow and began to climb. It was much tougher than he'd expected, especially since he hadn't escaped his enemies' notice.

The monsters weren't deterred by Wind's distance from them. They were hungry for hero blood, and they would get it one way or another. Ice pummeled the shield on his back, and though his shield protected him from the worst of it, wayward shards still managed to slice his skin here and there. The stinging cuts were distracting enough to make him slip.

He released a sound of aggravation the fifth time it happened. He would never reach an advantageous position at this rate.

Just as Wind turned to ask the Lizalfos if they could kindly die, a flash of orange cut through the dreary landscape and reduced his attackers to smoke. Retracing the arrows' path, Wind found Wild at the end of it.

The champion didn't say anything as he fitted another fire arrow to his bow, but he didn't have to. Wind understood his silent message. "I'll cover you."

With a nod of gratitude he hoped Wild could see through the snowfall, Wind turned his full attention back to climbing. The rock face was still slick with ice and snow, but not being pelted with icy projectiles made a difference. Now he could secure his footing and handholds before making another move.

Conscious of the fact that the longer Wild had to defend him, the longer his companions went without backup, Wind settled for the first ledge he came upon. He dismissed the cook's aid by destroying a Lizalfos with a flaming arrow of his own. To his relief, Wild took the hint and resumed picking off Lizalfos in the thick of battle.

Wind did his best to eradicate those targeting Warrior, Twilight, and Sky since the three men had no fire weapons to speak of. Of course, that wasn't to say he ignored the rest of the Links. There was no shortage of monsters so even those wielding fire rods and flaming swords were susceptible to being overwhelmed.

When the enemy ranks finally began to thin what felt like hours later, Wind concentrated his efforts on picking off stragglers. It seemed like the Lizalfos had run out of reinforcements, which was a relief. The cold was beginning to creep back into his bones. In fact, Wind found himself basking in the heat licking his face before he released each arrow. But it wouldn't be much longer.

Already, the crushing tension, as heavy as an ocean, had abated. Now it was just routine, a matter of going through the motions. He was even starting to relax, to become lax and lazy, but then his eyes found Hyrule.

The traveler was occupied with a group of Lizalfos. They were hopping in and out of range of Hyrule's blade. Either they were drawn by the brilliance of his flaming sword or they were just plain stupid. Whatever the case, the brunet was far too absorbed in making sure they impaled themselves on the end of his blade to notice the Lizalfos sneaking up behind him.

But Wind noticed, and he wasn't about to let his friend get hurt.

Ignoring the soreness in his arm as he drew back the bowstring, Wind lined up his shot and released the flaming projectile.

He watched the fire arrow cut through the air like a boat's keel through water on a windy day, following its path towards its target.

At the last second, the Lizalfos wove to the right, and Wind gasped, opening his mouth to take it back, to reverse the monster's action or else revise his arrow's course, but it was too late.

Hyrule screamed. The sound pierced Wind's heart like a Redead's shriek, freezing him in place.

He missed. No, he hadn't missed. He'd hit Hyrule.

A stone dropped into his stomach, heavy and cold.

He hit Hyrule.

_He hit_ _Hyrule_!

And now the traveler was kneeling in the snow, clutching his arm—his sword arm—while his sword lay useless and devoid of a spark beside him. The lone Lizaflos was nearly upon him. The Lizalfos 'Rule hadn't gotten around to dispatching yet were _on_ him.

"Hyrule!" Wind cried, as if that would turn back time and negate his folly.

It didn't.

Wind leaped off the ledge, rolling to spare himself from injury and sprinted for all he was worth.

Though he may have been blind to the remaining Lizalfos, they were not blind to him. They slithered over, hissing and hopping and blocking his path forward.

Wind tore an arrow from his quiver, igniting it with magic fire. He used it like a dagger, stabbing the lizard-like monsters, and then darting through their evaporated bodies. He didn't have time for this! _Hyrule_ didn't have time.

Despite moving as fast as possible, Wind wasn't fast enough. The traveler lay on the ground, crimson soaking into pure, glistening white.

Wind dropped to his knees as the last monster dissipated, vision blurring.

This couldn't be happening! It had to be a dream, a nightmare. One of those Lizalfos earlier must have knocked him off the cliff-face and rendered him unconscious. But the erratic thumping in his chest and the tears freezing on his face and making his cheeks ache felt all too real.

Desperately, Wind pawed through his things looking for a fairy. A potion. _Anything!_

He had nothing.

"Move." A shove sent him toppling over. Any other time he may have protested against Legend's roughness. Maybe even shoved him back. But such antics were far from his mind when Hyrule lay gasping for breath, for life. The very life that was rapidly seeping out of him all because Wind hadn't aimed properly.

Wind remained where he'd fallen, Even when snow began to soak into his clothes, he didn't move.

"I-I…it—" Guilt wrapped its fat, knowing fingers around his neck, choking him into silence. It wouldn't have mattered even if he could speak. Legend wasn't listening. He was too busy tending to 'Rule and shouting for Warrior. Wind's insistence that he didn't mean to, that he'd never intentionally hurt Hyrule, that he was sorry, would have fallen on deaf ears.

Warrior shot over like an arrow fired from a taut bowstring. Only, unlike Wind's arrow, he reached his intended target. The captain knelt in the cold next to Hyrule, assessing the damage.

Meanwhile Wind could only stare. Stare at Hyrule's pale, pain creased face. At the blood. At the singed fabric. At all the hurt hurt hurt _hurt_ —

Pressure on his shoulder jolted Wind upright, and he tilted his head to meet the single piercing eye of the Hero of Time.

"Are you hurt?" He said it slowly and with exaggerated enunciation, making Wind suspect this wasn't Time's first attempt at posing the question.

Wind, throat still clogged, jerked his head stiffly from side to side. No, he wasn't hurt. Hyrule was. Hyrule needed Time's attention, not him. Time must have come to the same conclusion because he simply said, "Take him," to someone Wind couldn't see and left.

Sky wrapped an arm around his shoulders not a second later and coaxed him to standing. Wind didn't have a problem with the change in position until the Skyloftian tried to lead him away from Hyrule. Wind couldn't leave yet! He hadn't apologized. Hyrule needed to know he was sorry. He had to say it before Hyrule died and the opportunity was lost forever, but when Wind opened his mouth nothing came out.

"It's okay. Come sit with me over here," Sky cooed, gently but firmly pulling Wind away from the carnage he'd caused.

Wind dug his heels into the snow and tried to explain why he needed to stay, but hiccupping sobs were all the noises he could manage.

"It's alright, Wind. 'Rule will be okay, but we need to give them room to work, alright?"

Wind didn't see how 'Rule could possibly be okay when there was so much blood, but his legs felt about as solid as water, so he had no choice but to let Sky lead him away. Away from the mess he'd made. Away from the mess he _should_ have been fixing.

Grandma always said to right your wrongs. If you hurt someone, apologize and do everything in your power to make it better. Of course, this advice mostly applied to petty squabbles he'd gotten into with Aryll. Hurt feelings, not physical hurt, but Wind thought it applied here, too. Especially here.

As he sat with Sky, it became clear the man had no clue what Wind had done. The Chosen Hero held him close and murmured empty reassurances while scanning him for injury. The wounds he did find were superficial, but he wrapped them anyway.

Only when Wild ran over with Twilight and Four in tow—they must have dispatched the last of the Lizalfos because Wind didn't see any—did Sky get an explanation.

After that, Sky hugged him harder and told him no one was mad at him. The others chimed in about how "it wasn't you're fault", "it was a freak accident", and that "it could have happened to anyone."

Wind didn't have the breath to say that none of them would ever make such a huge mistake. Now Hyrule was dying, and it was his fault. It would always be his fault, no matter what the others said. He'd forgotten to account for the monster's movement. He'd forgotten, and Hyrule was paying for it. (Possibly with his life— _please, Farore,_ _let it not be with his life!_ )

Wind should have been more like the Hero of Time, calm and collected in the presence of a downed comrade. Instead, he was blubbering like a baby, struggling to express that he was sorry. Sorry he was taking attention away from Hyrule who was hurt. Sorry he could do nothing to help. Sorry he wasn't as good a shot as Wild. Sorry he couldn't fill the legendary Hero of Time's shoes like so many people, living and dead, expected of him. Sorry he wasn't good enough.

Sorry he wasn't like them.


	8. A Friendly Spar

Everyone was relieved to leave behind the Hebra Mountains, Wind most of all. He would rather forget everything that transpired there.

By the grace of the goddesses, Hyrule's injuries wound up not being fatal. That wasn't to say they were frivolous, however. Besides the obvious arrow wound, a nasty burn dominated his entire left arm, and he had a decent-sized slice on his back from the Lizalfos Wind had tried and failed to stop. Fortunately, some stitches, a wad of bandages, several red potions, and some rest at Selmie's cabin fixed him up nearly good as new. Nearly.

Just like the others, Hyrule didn't blame him. When Wind finally managed to squeak out an apology, the traveler brushed it off, saying he almost felt bad for the monsters after feeling the strength of Wind's arm.

Wind had smiled wanly as 'Rule and the rest laughed, but he'd felt like crying all over again. That proved how weak he really was. Or it would have if the sailor had given in to the urge. Instead, he'd slapped a happy mask on his face in lieu of the Hero of Time's emotionless one. There was no way he could emulate such a stoic, unfeeling look. His face was far too expressive. He needed an expression to fake and a smile worked well. It was familiar. He used it to pretend he believed his companions' reassurances, and when he stretched his mouth wide and crinkled his eyes at the corners he almost believed him too.

Wind strengthened his act by pouring his efforts into fun—or what should have been fun since he'd never made a snowman before. (The snow castle idea had been deemed too extravagant for their limited time frame.) Wind found he didn't mind. In fact, the claws in his chest loosened just the tiniest bit while he worked.

Helping roll and stack massive balls of snow took effort. So did decorating. Lively debates were raged over accessories, but in the end they decided on topaz for eyes, a swift carrot nose, and pieces of flint for the mouth and buttons. Warrior donated his scarf and while it did make the snowman more fashionable, it didn't complete it. That honor went to Legend's floppy blue hat, which was not given freely, but he must not have minded as much as his profanity suggested because he never once activated his Pegasus Boots to reclaim the article.

Wind had taken a pictograph of the final product for Aryll. He hoped the snowman made her happy. Making it with his brothers in arms and in spirit had brought him a little joy.

Yet the fragile emotion was crushed as soon as he strolled back into the cabin to see Hyrule trying to sleep and wincing with every movement that pulled at his still-fresh wounds. Guilt returned, slamming into his stomach and dropping granite stone upon granite stone into his gut.

By the time they were ready to leave, Wind's stomach barely had room for the nasty elixirs Wild had labored over to keep them all warm. He managed to keep them down by sheer willpower. It would be rude to regurgitate a potion Wild had worked so hard on, after all.

They arrived at Rito Village long after the sun had set. The Rito in Wild's world weren't postmen, and they were even more bird-like than the Rito on the Great Sea. Wind quickly discovered their differing appearance was for a good reason. Namely: the weather. As the fire in his belly died, a chill clamped down on his shoulders and shook him silly. It wasn't snowing, but it certainly felt cold enough to.

Fortunately, the Rito were just as amiable in Wild's era as they were in Wind's, and the group of heroes were welcomed into the inn where feathery beds awaited their frozen bodies.

Wind all but jumped into the first bed he saw and bundled himself in the soft, feather-filled blankets. His sleep was fitful but warm.

In the morning, they asked around about monster sightings and were directed, to Wind's relief, further inland. Wild claimed it didn't mean much because there were always some monsters around the places the Rito had mentioned, but Wind was less interested in black-blooded monsters and more interested in escaping the cold.

Unfortunately, Wild's Hyrule was ridiculously massive and the stable they wound up at didn't boast much warmer temperatures than Rito Village. No one else was complaining, though, so Wind kept his lips sealed and did his best to mask his shivers.

After securing their beds at the stable, Legend proposed some sparring to pass the time until supper. Wind leapt at the opportunity. Not only because all the movement would keep him warm but also because it was a chance to prove to the others, and himself, that he wasn't just a dumb kid that was just as likely to hit his teammates in battle as he was a monster.

That was how Wind found himself facing off against Legend in a grassy area across from the stable so they wouldn't disturb anyone.

"First to three wins?" Legend suggested.

"Sure," Wind agreed, unsheathing his sword. They didn't have practice blades, but that was probably for the best. He had never sparred with one so the unfamiliar balance would have only thrown him off. Besides, he knew how to be careful with a real sword. Orca wouldn't have given him one otherwise.

Legend twirled his sword, almost looking bored like he didn't expect much of Wind. That was fine. Being underestimated would work in his favor.

Wind bowed at the waist, eyes trained on his opponent just like he did whenever beginning or ending a spar with Orca. It was common courtesy, the retired adventurer had taught him. A show of respect for the other swordsman's strength and a promise to fight fairly.

Legend did not reciprocate the gesture. He quirked an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Wind froze. Was this not..? Did Orca teach him wrong? Or was the whole bowing thing not part of Hyrule's culture? A Great Sea thing only? Wind began to think it was as he glanced to the sidelines where the other heroes were looking on curiously, waiting for an answer to clear the confusion from their eyes.

Heart in throat, Wind quickly dropped his eyes to the ground and bent down to touch his toes. He straightened not a second later, reaching his arms up to embrace the sky. "Stretching."

"Weird stretch, but okay," Legend acquiesced. "Are you ready now, or do you want to delay your inevitable loss with more stretching?"

Heat rushed to his face. Any rebuttal like "I'm not going to lose" or "Maybe you should try stretching" sounded forced and childish even in his own mind. Therefore, Wind simply adjusted his footing and gripped his sword tighter. It already felt slippery in his hand. "I'm ready."

They began, circling each other like Gyorgs. Wind watched Legend carefully for any tell-tale twitches that would indicate an attack, but after thirty seconds it became clear the veteran wasn't going to make the first move.

Steeling himself, Wind rushed Legend, going for a vertical slice. The veteran blocked it with a smirk like, "This isn't even hard", and Wind struck again. He whirled and slashed and parried, dancing around Legend like a force of nature. Frustratingly, none of his attacks landed.

The duo traded blows long enough for Wind's arms to grow sore. However, it was clear Legend was just getting started.

"Ya done?" Before Wind could draw in a breath to retort, Legend pushed back harder. Where he had previously been matching the veteran blow for blow, Wind was now struggling to block a strike. Legend had to be using his Pegasus Boots. He _had_ to be. It was the only thing that explained his sudden increase in speed.

Magic items were not fair game in a sword fight. That was fine. If Legend wasn't going to play fair then neither would he.

Wind parried Legend's next strike and swept his leg low. The pink-haired hero hit the dirt with a thud.

Not one to waste an opportunity, Wind angled the flat of his sword downward, intent on smacking Legend across the stomach with it. Unfortunately, Legend's blade caught his before it could make contact. Wind pushed, gritting his teeth, but their blades were firmly locked.

The grin that split Legend's face was smug. "Fighting dirty, are we? Alright then."

A sharp pain in his calf invited Wind to join Legend in the dirt. Except the way he'd fallen practically had him eating it. Disgusted with his current position and the fact that he hadn't guarded against such an obvious retaliation, Wind pushed himself to his knees.

The sting of Legend's blade whacking him across the back slammed him down again.

"No!" He gasped.

Legend laughed, cold and cruel. "You asked for it."

Wind scrambled to his feet and faced Legend. He was already standing and waiting for Wind to collect himself, sword resting casually across his shoulders.

They resumed. Wind more cautious than before. He wasn't going to let Legend get in another hit. And for that, he needed a plan. A surefire way to score a point. Which meant he needed a maneuver Legend didn't know. It was obvious by the way Legend had been blocking all his attacks that ordinary sword strikes would get Wind nowhere.

There was only one secret sword technique Orca had taught him, and if he did it right, he could score three points, easy.

The prospect made the decision for him, and Wind crouched low. He held out his sword, making sure the flat of the blade shone forth. He didn't want to hurt Legend, after all. The older boy may have been a jerk sometimes, but he wasn't a monster.

Magic hummed through his bones, radiating from his toes all the way to the top of his head.

Legend eyed him warily, taking a cautious step back. Wind allowed a smirk to grace his own lips. The veteran would need to put a lot more distance between them than that if he didn't want to get hit.

Unfortunately for Legend, there was no more time to retreat. Magic zinged to the tip of Wind's sword. He could feel it, pent up energy thrumming through the blade and into his hand, giving him a small taste of what was to come. The magic bounced along the steel eagerly asking "when? when? when?" and Wind answered it with a battle cry.

_Now!_

The release filled him with dizzying energy like it always did, spinning his body around and around on the raw power that was the Hurricane Spin.

He lost count of how many rotations he completed before he felt his sword make contact. A curse followed it, just barely meeting his ears over the whooshing of his self-made cyclone, and Wind's yell transformed into a cheer.

When his momentum finally ran out, Wind hadn't noticed anymore resistance. Nonetheless, he was satisfied with one point. He stumbled and staggered to a stop, the world spinning in a swirl of greens and browns and blues.

He was so busy grinning at his victory and his topsy-turvy vision that he didn't notice Legend until the veteran tapped his sword against his shoulder. "Two to one."

Smile dropping, Wind whirled around, intent on evening the score. The floor tilted and deposited him on the ground. A sound of aggravation tore from his throat. "Not fair!"

"It's completely fair," Legend refuted. "Your ability to recover from a move has nothing to do with me."

"All's fair in love and war," the captain commented.

"Not sure what love has to do with it, but yes to the war part," Legend quipped.

"Still, for sparring purposes that was a little mean," Four mentioned.

"Nah, it'd be mean if I took two points," Legend said, waving his hand dismissively. At least, Wind thought that's what he was doing. Everything looked like it was waving at the moment, so it was hard to say for certain. "I only took one, and I'm giving him time to put his head back on straight before we continue. A monster wouldn't be half as generous."

Wind winced at that. Legend's words were harsh, but true. Had he been fighting a monster, he would be dead right now, or at the minimum, seriously injured. It was for that reason Orca had told him to spot while he spun, to locate a stationary point with his eyes and keep them there. What Wind didn't think the old seafarer realized was that everything blurred together when one started spinning. There was no stable point to hold on _to_. Thus, Wind was doomed to be hopelessly dizzy.

True to his word, Legend waited until Wind's disorientation faded before attacking again. Metal screeched against metal as their blades met. Wind ducked under Legend's next swipe, trying to put some distance between them. The adventure-hardened hero didn't let him get that far. He whirled around to meet him, forcing Wind to raise his sword to fend off a blow that would have bruised his shoulder.

The veteran hit hard and fast. Wind scarcely had time to breathe, much less think as they tore through the grassy battlefield.

Clearly, Legend was pressing him on purpose. He saw him, or rather, his Hurricane Spin, as a threat. The knowledge caused his chest to swell with pride. _Finally_ he was being taken seriously. If Legend was playing such an aggressive offense, it must mean he believed Wind was capable of hitting him twice if he had time to charge up his special technique. Of course, it was unlikely and a risk besides. If Wind executed another Hurricane Spin and managed to strike Legend once, or worse, not at all, then he'd be wide open. There was no doubt in his mind Legend would swoop in to secure his victory in such a scenario, which was exactly why Wind wasn't going to risk it.

But Legend didn't know that, and Wind was concentrating so much on defending himself that he couldn't make it known. Nonetheless, Legend's belief in Wind's potential invigorated him to prove the elder hero's weariness well placed.

Besides, the Hero of Time was watching. Wind _had_ to win.

Calling on the strength of his power bracelets, the Hero of Winds put all he could in each parry and subsequent swing. None of them earned him a point, but he did succeed in making Legend backpedal, and that was a victory in itself.

But not one Wind relished. It didn't count, and Legend forced him on the defensive again not a moment later. As they continued to trade blows and their swords grated against each other, Wind felt himself tiring.

Each metallic clang sent shockwaves up his arms and to his teeth. His blocks and parries grew sloppier. He stumbled over nothing but his own two feet.

The spectators must have noticed because they grew boisterous—or maybe they'd been yelling the whole time, and Wind just hadn't noticed until now. Some called out encouragement, some tips. Warrior even threw in an insult to distract Legend. It didn't work. None of it did.

With a vicious tap to Wind's shin, the battle ended.

He had lost.

Wind flopped onto the grass, breathing heavily. Legend's harsh breaths were his only solace, and even then, they didn't comfort him much.

Claps and whistles (and one boo on his behalf) arose from their companions.

"That was a fine display, boys," The Hero of Time commended them.

Wind had a feeling he was addressing Legend more so than him. He'd only landed a single hit, and it wasn't even because of any skill he possessed. The Hurricane Spin was a last-ditch effort, a move he used when overwhelmed and outmatched. It didn't deserve any praise, but brushing Time's words off would be suspicious so he shot the eldest hero a sunny smile and turned to Legend.

"I'll beat you next time," he promised, false confidence pulling his lips taut over his teeth.

Legend scoffed as he gave him a hand up. "In your dreams, kiddo."

It was a joke, but it didn't feel like one.

Wind kept his expression happy, playful—even going so far as to stick his tongue out at Legend—as he strolled to the sidelines and took a seat beside Four.

The blacksmith immediately started congratulating him on the one point he managed to score and asked how Wind knew the Hurricane Spin. Sourly musing that Four could probably remain steady after executing the apparently not-so-secret technique, Wind told the smithy that Orca had taught it to him after he'd gathered ten knight's crests. Naturally, the Hero of the Four Sword was puzzled by what he meant by a "knight's crest" so Wind rummaged through his spoils bag and handed a spare one to his friend.

He answered Four's follow-up questions half-heartedly. The majority of his attention was focused on the sparring heroes. He couldn't help but note that they each made contact on their opponent twice. They were evenly matched despite the fact that one ultimately won out over the other. Neither 'Rule nor Time got a turn before Wild called them for dinner, but 'Rule was still recovering so whatever the outcome, it wouldn't have been accurate. As for Time, well...he was _the_ legendary Hero of Time. His title alone proved his skill.

After today, Wind knew for certain he could never match it. He was surrounded by people better than him, and while he loved them, he couldn't help being jealous. What did they have that he didn't? Proper training? Natural talent? A blessing from the goddesses?

The mere idea of eating made him feel sick to his stomach, but he didn't want the others to think something was wrong. What was he supposed to say if they asked? The truth? No, that would just make him look more pathetic than he already did. He couldn't possibly blame it on Wild's cooking. That would be rude and only serve to hurt the cook's feelings.

So Wind nibbled quietly on his dinner and hoped the others were too invested in the current conversation to notice he wasn't inhaling his food like usual.

"Excuse me, did you just say _flying tiles_?" Warrior demanded incredulously.

"Well, you shot down my dragon answer, so yeah, I did," Legend confirmed, a challenge coloring his tone. "What of it?"

"That's not an enemy, Leg. It's an inanimate object."

"You sure about that, pretty boy?" Legend raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Quite."

"Alright. Step into a room full of them. Tell me how 'inanimate' they are then," Legend retorted, making air quotes to emphasize his point.

"You're delusional." Warrior shook his head, smiling faintly as he scooped up some meat and rice from the bowl in his lap.

"I'm serious!" Legend insisted, jabbing his fork in the captain's direction as if that would press home his point. "They're the most ferocious pieces of work I've ever come across, and I guaran _tee_ they would decimate you and your soldiers on the battlefield any day."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Four noted. "I've dealt with them before and—" Legend's glare encouraged the smithy to snap his mouth shut and reconsider. "Okay, they're not fun to deal with, but I wouldn't say they're the _worst_ kind of enemy. I'd give that award to Ball and Chain Soldiers."

Wind didn't recognize the name, but Legend apparently did because he groaned, leaning back in his seat so far he almost fell over. "I forgot about those things. Their weapons are absolutely obnoxious. Who fights with a ball and chain anyway?

"Well…" Warrior and Twilight said at the same time. The pair paused, wide-eyed as they locked gazes across the cooking pot.

"You have one too?"

"Yeah, I got it from a chest. Spoils of war and all that."

"You lucky dog! I had to fight a monster for mine."

Warrior dipped his head to Twilight. "Mad respect to you for that."

The two heroes raised their drinks in ball and chain wielding solidarity.

Wind wasn't well-versed in weaponry. His knowledge didn't extend much farther than basic blades. Fortunately, Wild posed the question, so Wind didn't have to. "What does a ball and chain look like?"

Neither Twilight nor Warrior wasted any time in producing the weapons from their arsenals. To be honest, Wind had been able to deduce what the weapon looked like based on name alone. However, he was not prepared for the sheer sized of the spiked ball attached to the end of a length of chain.

"Do you fear me, Vet?" Warrior wondered, tossing the metal ball up and down in one gauntleted hand as he eyed the bare-legged hero with a mightier-than-thou look on his face.

Legend scoffed and took a bite of his dinner. "You wish."

"I bet you would be scared if you saw me in action," Warrior returned, juggling the ball between his palms as if contemplating swinging it around.

Four's hand shot into the air. "Hi. Yes. Person trying to enjoy his dinner here. Please don't."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Four," Warrior apologized, suddenly sheepish. He stilled the spiky weapon. "This thing's probably going to give you nightmares, huh?"

Four laughed. "No. That is." He pointed to Twilight who was holding an identical shiny metal ball. The difference was Twilight didn't have any gauntlets on.

"How are you holding that without being crushed?!" Warrior demanded.

Twilight smiled. "I'm a ranch hand."

"You're inhuman," Warrior shot back.

The Hero of Twilight chuckled. He hefted the ball higher in his arms. "Jealous of my strength, are you, city boy?"

"No way, you country bumpkin! This isn't even heavy. Wind, could lift it. Speaking of—Sailor!"

Wind snapped his head up at the call, a careful smile on his face.

"Want to play catch?" Warrior asked, reeling back his arm in preparation to throw, much to Sky's horror.

Pushing the rice in his mouth to the side of his cheek, Wind exclaimed an affirmative, "Yeah!" He set aside his bowl and held up his hands, grinning madly.

The captain laughed, readjusting his grip on the metal ball and bringing it back to rest securely between his palms. He wasn't going to throw it, which was a shame. Wind could definitely have caught it.

Even though he knew Warrior had been teasing, Wind couldn't help being disappointed that the scarf-wearing hero didn't follow through. Wind wanted to prove he was strong, too, even if he had to rely on power bracelets to do it.

"For real, though, I'm a beast on the battlefield," Warrior said, eyeing their resident hoarder meaningfully. "If you hate Ball and Chain Soldiers, you'd really hate me."

"That's impossible," Legend said without looking up from his dinner. "I already hate you."

"Ouch! I've been gravely wounded! Medic!" Warrior cried, dropping the ball and chain at his feet and collapsing to the ground, grasping for Hyrule.

The traveler nudged him with a boot, grinning. "You're getting mud on your scarf."

Warrior yelped, startling upright to check while raucous laughter filled the air. Warrior was a charming dork so he could get away with it. If Wind was ever that dramatic, the others, Legend especially, would peg him as annoying and childish. The rice in Wind's mouth had long since turned to mush. He swallowed reflexively, shuddering as it slithered down his throat.

"More importantly, you're going to wound someone with that ball if you keep it up," Time said once Warrior confirmed his scarf was mud-free and the laughter had died down to titters. "Put it away; both of you. The dinner table is no place for weapons."

"Technically, we're not sitting at a table," Twi pointed out cheekily. It was true. Their seats consisted of logs and hard-packed earth. The cooking pot acted as their center piece.

Time shot him a withering look. "You know what I mean."

Indeed, they did, and they were wise enough not to push it. Both Twilight and Warrior stored the punishing metal weaponry out of sight. Good thing, too. Wind hadn't noticed until Time discreetly pointed it out, but they had attracted attention. Stable-hands and travelers alike were eyeing the group of armed heroes warily, as if they expected them to go berserk any second. Of course, the few he made eye contact with swiftly averted their gazes. No one wanted to come off as snoops. Aside from a few kids, that is. They continued to stare with unabashed curiosity. Wind looked away.

"Alright, old man," Warrior said, picking up his bowl again. "Hardest type of enemy to fight. Go—and don't you dare say the moon."

The Hero of Time took a generous bite of food. Chewed. Swallowed. Shoveled in some more.

"Well?" Warrior asked after a few more seconds passed like this.

"I'm thinking. Is that not allowed?" Time leveled the captain with his only eye. Where Wind would have found the look intimidating, Warrior simply found it a nuisance. He rolled his eyes until they landed on his own meal.

Hyrule nudged the scarf-wearing hero in the side and fake whispered, "Give him a break. He's old. The gears move slower for him."

If the Hero of Time was insulted by the jibe, he didn't show it.

"Too right!" Warrior exclaimed, clapping 'Rule on the back. He pulled the weight of the gesture at the last second, mindful of the traveler's still tender skin. "What about you? Do you have an answer for me or are you an old man, too?"

Hyrule startled, nearly falling off the log he shared with the captain. His gaze flicked left to right, then down to his lap as if his dinner held the answer. "Uh…yeah. I do. Um…" 'Rule frowned in thought. "Achemen. Probably those are the worst."

"You're going to have to elaborate on that one for me, bud," Warrior said. "I have no idea what that is."

"Same here," Legend chimed in.

"Really?" Hyrule cast his gaze around the group only to be met with blank stares. Wind knew how it felt. "I guess they're just terrors in my Hyrule then, heh. They're like aches but worse."

"Don't know what an ache is," Legend mentioned between bites of food.

"Right, uh…" 'Rule fiddled with his fork, tapping it restlessly on the rim of his bowl as he contemplated a better explanation. Using forks for this particular meal felt unnatural to Wind. At home, they would use chopsticks, but there weren't any here that he could see, and he wasn't about to ask for some. Everyone would just look at him weird. As usual.

"Think of Keese," Hyrule said finally. "But Hylian size and capable of spitting fire."

Wind did and decided he didn't want to ever encounter an Achemen. The way Keese flitted about made them difficult enough to hit. Fire Keese were even worse on account of well, being on _fire_ , so he could only imagine how dangerous it was to fight a super-sized bat with flame breath.

Warrior didn't agree. "Giant Keese? That doesn't sound so bad."

"Sounds bad enough to me," Four said.

"Of course it does to you. For you, anything bigger than a Keese is a problem."

Four regarded him, unimpressed. "You really need to find better jokes."

"Come on, it was low hanging fruit…"

"Don't say it," Four warned.

Warrior didn't even hesitate. "Like you."

"That's it." Four shot to his feet and swiped Warrior's bowl out of his hands. "I'm taking your portion."

"No! Smithy, don't make me starve!" Warrior begged, grabbing for his dinner and missing when Four skipped out of reach.

"Let Four have it," Legend advised. "He needs it to grow big and strong." Four made an affronted noise that went ignored. "Besides, you're not even eating. You're too busy running your mouth."

Warrior's rebuttal was lost among the laughter. Wind didn't have to force his own giggles as much that time.

"There's more," Wild piped up, pointing to the cooking pot.

His words went unheeded as Warrior stood to reclaim his dinner from Four. He managed it easily, but something told Wind that if Four hadn't been teasing, Warrior would have had to take Wild's advice and grab another helping.

"So we have Ball and Chain Soldiers, giant Keese—"

"Achemen," 'Rule corrected.

"Sure. Anything worse?"

"I hate fighting Darknuts," Twilight mentioned.

Wind was about to agree with the ranch hand, but then Warrior scoffed. "Oh come on. I've fought your Darknuts. Those guys are pushovers."

Twilight tilted his head to the side, disbelief crinkling his brow and pulling his mouth down at the corners. "I don't think we fought the same Darknuts."

Even if they had, Wind doubted Darknuts varied so much. They were tough opponents, made even tougher by the copious amounts of armor they wore, but maybe that showed how little he knew. Warrior had fought in a war. Multiple wars, actually. That made him an expert on monsters.

"We have. Trust me," Warrior said. "All you have to do is circle around them really fast and make them dizzy. Then they're easy to beat."

"I…have never tried that," Twilight admitted.

"Try it next time. It's almost laughable."

"I do advise being cautious around all monsters," Time chimed in. "The worst thing you can do is underestimate your opponent."

"Yeah, I know," Warrior drawled. "I'm just saying in relation to other enemies, the Darknuts from Twi's era aren't crazy tough. I wouldn't peg them as the worst enemy."

"You've dealt with monsters from different eras prior to our meeting, haven't you, Warrior?" Sky asked.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Warrior nodded. "I've dealt with some of yours as well."

"Have you fought Shield Moblins before? Because they get my vote. Especially the ones with metal shields. They take so much work to kill." Sky looked spent just from recalling the energy required to dispatch the troublesome enemies. Then again, he always looked slightly sleepy.

"Ah, yeah, they can be a pain," Warrior agreed. "Especially with the reach of their spears. Still, they leave themselves wide-open with that belly-flop move, so if you're patient enough, they aren't too bad."

"Okay, pretty boy. You're so judgmental about other people's picks; Let's hear yours." Legend requested.

"Aeralfos," Warrior said without missing a beat.

The veteran sputtered, nearly choking on his rice. " _Aeralfos?_ You give me crap about picking dragons and you pick Aeralfos?! Those are basically dragons!"

"No they aren't."

"They're lizards with wings!

"They're _Lizalfos_ with wings," Warrior corrected, index finger held up in the air to signify that the distinction was incredibly important. "And they breathe fire."

"Like dragons," Legend deadpanned.

"Like Achemen," Hyrule piped up helpfully.

Warrior slung an arm around the traveler. "See? He gets me."

"You're a traitor," Legend asserted, stabbing an accusatory finger at Hyrule.

The traveler cringed, but he was smiling. "Sorry."

"And _you_ , you're just an idiot," Legend continued, rounding on Warrior. "If dragons don't count then neither do Aeralfos."

"Dragons don't count because they're not normal enemies!" Warrior exclaimed. "They're bosses. You don't encounter them on a daily basis."

"Well, I don't encounter Aeralfos on a daily basis, so they're not valid either."

"That's not how this works."

"It's _so_ how it works!"

The rest of them were content to eat their dinner while the two hot-headed heroes squabbled over whether or not Aeralfos could be considered in the running for worst normal enemy.

The conversation did not die there, however. Wind actually made sure it didn't because not voicing his opinion would have been uncharacteristic of him.

"Dragons aren't even scary." Sure, Valoo could breathe fire but that fire had never been directed at him. "Redeads are waaay worse."

"Redeads? What are those?" He should have been expecting the question, really, but some naïve part of him hoped he wouldn't have to explain. It only distanced him further from the rest, and besides, his experiences with the rotting creatures weren't ones he cherished.

Time, surprisingly, came to his rescue. "Redeads are reanimated corpses." He paused to take in the horrified expressions on the uninitiated Link's faces, then turned to Wind. "And I agree with you. They are the worst."

Wind smiled faintly at that. It was an awful thing to share, Redeads, but at least he shared it with Time.

"You two fought…" Sky gulped. He looked a little green and Wind was surprised his next words weren't followed by the food he'd just swallowed. "…dead people?"

"Well, I don't know if I'd call them people or if they ever really were," Time mused. "They all look the same, tall and emaciated with wooden faces."

Wind frowned at the last part. His Redeads did not wear masks. But they did all look the same, so Wind didn't think it worth mentioning.

"I've never encountered anything like that," Four said. And because he was forever a seeker of knowledge, or maybe he just tended to be curious like Wind, he asked, "How do they attack?"

Wind did not want to answer that. Just thinking about it, about the ice cold gaze, the bone-chilling shriek, the lanky limbs rigid with rigor mortis wrapped around his, the jaw unhinging to sink rotten, tomb-stone teeth into his skull… well Wind didn't want think about it. He shuddered.

Time didn't even blink; he was fearless. "They have a paralyzing stare. And if that doesn't immobilize you, their scream will."

"So like…Gibdos," Twilight said.

"Yes, exactly like them," Time confirmed. "In fact, Gibdos are Redeads. The only difference is they're wrapped in bandages. They're a little tougher to defeat for that reason so I might change my answer…"

It was petty and stupid but Wind wished he wouldn't. He wanted Time on his side for this even though the monsters weren't that different, only separated by strands of soiled fabric.

"Gibdos aren't like that in my era," Four said. "They're Stalfos."

Time hummed. "Interesting."

"But back to Redeads…" Sky had long since covered his ears to opt out of the conversation. Wind longed to do the same but forced himself to listen. If Time could tolerate this topic so could he.

" _How_ do they fight exactly? You mentioned them paralyzing you, but I imagine it doesn't last forever since you're both here, so they must have some other attack. But if they're corpses—or decomposing—then they can't…they wouldn't…" Four trailed off with a frustrated sigh, struggling to form his thoughts into coherent sentences, but Time understood what he meant. Wind did, too. Dead bodies were fragile and stiff besides. Moving shouldn't have been physically possible even with dark magic pulling the strings.

"They can't move well so they're stationary most of the time. Also, they're blind." Wind recalled the hollow eye-sockets sunken into a blue skull, neck turning to follow his every move. They didn't act blind. Maybe his weren't.

"I imagine it's why they have the ability to paralyze: to give them enough time to shuffle over to their prey. After that, they grab you, and well…" Time spread his hands in a hopeless gesture which Wind thought summed up the experience perfectly. "It's not pleasant."

"Can we please change the subject?" Sky whined. Apparently, his self-made earplugs weren't working well enough. Such was the curse of being Hylian. Their long, pointed ears were blessed to hear the divine and everything in-between.

Wind wanted to shout, "Yes, let's!" but didn't for fear of sounding overeager.

Fortunately, Time honored Sky's request and asked the quiet champion if he had anything to add on the topic of worst enemies to fight.

Wild's short answer of "Lynels" sent Legend, who had since ended his debate with Warrior, and Hyrule into an uproar. The duo's overwhelming agreement with Wild's verdict sealed the winner of the worst type of normal monster.

As Wind listened to the three heroes list all the ways in which Lynels were the absolute worst, an idea began to unfurl. If Lynels were tough enough to make even the most experienced of them tremble, then they must be ferocious monsters. Which meant if he beat one, it would definitely prove he was just like the others. That he was brave. That he was strong. That he wasn't a burden. Even more than that, it would prove he belonged.

Wind finished the last of his dinner with gusto. He was going on a Lynel hunt.

Tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: In The Wind Waker, if you go inside the Windfall Island lighthouse and look on the floor to the left of Salvatore (the proprietor of the Sinking Ships Minigame) you will see three empty red bowls stacked on top of one another. Inside of these bowls you will see chopsticks. :)


	9. Not Like Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEA- just kidding. xP Wind can totally take a Lynel...  
> Or can he? 🤔

Finding a Lynel wasn't difficult. All he had to do was nab Wild's slate on the pretense of wanting to look through some pictographs. After a bit of fiddling, Wind managed to bring up the map.

Contrary to what one might believe of Wild based on his somewhat bedraggled appearance, the champion was insanely organized. Every major enemy, cooking ingredient, and point of interest was marked on his map. Even better, the icons came complete with images. (Which was extremely fortunate because Wind couldn't read the Sheikah glyphs.) All he needed to do was tap on one of the many symbols dotting the chart and up popped a pictograph to inform him what lay in that region.

Luckily, a Lynel was nearby. Just behind the stable, in fact.

Wind waited until everyone slipped snugly into dreams, feigning sleep himself so as not to draw any unwanted attention. Then, when only soft breathing and snores padded the stable walls, he made his move.

Tip-toeing out of the open-air building and into the chilly night, Wind set out for an evening of Lynel slaying. He had committed Wild's map to memory. Hopefully that would be enough to locate his prey.

As he walked, he fantasized about the awed expressions on his fellow heroes' faces when he dumped a bag of spoils at their feet and presented the pictograph he planned on taking of the beast's corpse.

The mental image put a little skip in his step and a grin on his face.

Not even the small cliffs and rocky bits he had to scale along the way could put a damper on his high spirits. Rock climbing wasn't too much different from climbing rigging at home. In fact, it felt almost exactly the same whenever he used his grappling hook to keep himself steady while climbing particularly steep patches.

The ground evened out before long, giving way to grass. Pillars, moss-ridden and aged with time clung to a short incline of pale rock ahead. Wind trotted over—and immediately dropped into a crouch. Something had moved. Was it the Lynel...or just a tree swaying in the breeze?

Nervously biting the inside of his cheek, Wind crawled forward on hands and knees to peer over the rocks. Yards away, a black-maned beast stared back. He ducked, holding a cry of alarm between his teeth and silently willing the frantic beating of his heart to subside. The monster could probably hear it, it was so loud.

Wind remained frozen like that, forehead pressed against rock, until his lungs screamed for fresh oxygen. He sucked in a quiet breath.

Nothing happened. He allowed himself to breathe easier, then. The Lynel hadn't spotted him. Nonetheless, Wind kept his center of gravity low as he crept over to one of the leaning pieces of limestone. Once there, he cautiously, ever so cautiously, craned his neck to peek around the pillar.

The Lynel wasn't facing him this time, but that didn't make the monster any less intimidating. It's upper half was a cross between a lion and a buff sailor. Looking at its heavily muscled chest and arms, Wind could easily imagine it wrestling a Big Octo and winning. And that wasn't even accounting for its lower half, which resembled a horse, all sinewy muscle and punishing hooves. Raw power with none of the gentleness of Epona.

A tiny, nagging voice yelled at him to turn back, to run away and climb back in bed and forget all about challenging the monster. There was no way he could win. But he knew that was just cowardice talking. Just the child in him that was still scared of the dark and the creatures that lurked within it.

He was not that child anymore.

Trusting the weathered pillar to conceal him, Wind observed his foe as it waltzed around the soon to be battlefield. Rushing in without a plan was stupid. He knew that much.

Other than the obvious danger, the monster's lower half posed, Wind noted it possessed a savage-looking sword and shield, along with a bow and quiver of arrows. He would have to watch out for those.

Taking out its legs and limiting its movement would be best, but he would need something stronger than a sword to cripple it.

Nodding to himself, Wind drew back and pressed his spine to the rough stone. He rummaged in his bag, removing first the Skull Hammer, then his bow and quiver. After setting aside the hammer, he nocked an arrow and ignited it with warm magic. Blinding the monster could only work in his favor. Of course, its eyes weren't nearly as big as other monsters he'd fought, but that didn't make them any less sensitive.

Drawing in a deep breath to steady his pounding heart, Wind stepped out of his hiding place, aimed, and fired. The bow wasn't his best weapon; he'd proved that the other day. Therefore, it came as no great surprise when his arrow did not bury itself in the Lynel's eye. Still, judging by the monster's pained roar, a fire arrow to the cheek didn't feel too good either.

Shouldering his bow and scooping up his hammer, Wind charged. Still disoriented by the surprise attack, the Lynel could do nothing to stop the Hero of Winds from slamming the Skull Hammer into its right fore-leg.

It crumpled, and the monster howled in fury, striking out with its razor-edged weapon. Only the recoil from his own attack saved Wind from having his face marred.

He scrambled to his feet, leaving the Skull Hammer where he'd dropped it, and nocked another arrow. His close proximity to the Lynel helped his aim, and this time the projectile pierced the monster's beady eye.

This only enraged the beast further, but Wind had been expecting that and rolled out of range of the following sword swipe. He grabbed his fallen hammer along the way, popping up to standing and swinging with all his might. The Lynel's back leg crumpled much like the first.

Wind frowned at the limb. It looked plenty intact, which meant he'd merely bruised the beast, not broken it. Oh well. He could make this work.

To optimize damage dealt, Wind replaced his hammer with the Phantom Sword. The blade was much easier to swing, and there was no recoil to knock him off his feet and eat up precious time. Even with the switch, Wind only managed to create a handful of cuts on the monster's tough hide before it rose to its full height. Definitely not broken.

The Lynel turned faster than he'd been expecting from such a clunky-looking beast, and Wind brought up his shield to deflect the incoming blow.

Metal clanged against metal, and Wind toppled to the ground, unable to stand under the pressure. His right arm pulsed.

The Lynel stamped its hooves in sick delight, and Wind would have been trampled if not for his swift reflexes. They rolled his body out of imminent danger and up into a run.

Distance. He needed some distance.

His enemy was all too happy to give it. Wind thought this strange until he glanced over his shoulder. The Lynel had its bow raised to the heavens, and as Wind watched, released a volley of sparkling yellow arrows into the night sky.

The relative darkness made the projectiles easy to see, not so much to dodge.

Arm trembling, Wind raised his shield overhead and maintained his pace, eyes trained overhead at the falling arrows. He wasn't overly concerned about them. Not until one pinged against his shield.

A shock of static electricity seized his limbs, locking them in place. His bones hummed with heat as the current surged through them, his skin pinching too tightly. The sparks danced up and down his body for what felt like a century before dumping him on the ground.

He gasped in a long-denied breath and choked on it. The earth was trembling beneath his spine. Wind was inclined to believe his erratically beating heart and shaking limbs were the culprits until he cast his swirling gaze to the last place he recalled seeing his opponent.

A flash of the Lynel with its head ducked low and hooves churning dirt to dust told Wind he needed to move.

Now.

Except his limbs were sluggish and uncooperative.

_No._ He refused to die this way.

Wind fumbled for the bag at his hip, twitching fingers frantic in their search.

Come on…come on…

It had to be here somewhere…

There!

Wind's hand closed around a multifaceted gem, and the Lynel struck.

Lavender burst across his vision as he went airborne. A scream, more from shock than pain, ripped from his lungs. Wind's landing was hard and would have most certainly broken some bones had he not kept such a death-grip on his magic armor.

He staggered to his feet almost immediately, lavender light fading and wallet roughly a hundred rupees lighter. There was no time for recovery or lamenting over lost cash. Not when facing such a vicious monster. Already, it was pawing the ground in preparation for another charge. Wind wasn't going to give it another chance.

Sliding his bow off his shoulder and clumsily nocking an arrow, Wind aimed for the Lynel's face. It took him a few tries on account of his still jittery arms and stiff digits, but he managed to stop the monster mid-charge.

Hefting the Skull Hammer was more of a chore than before, but his poor aim with the arrow meant he didn't have to travel far to reach his foe. He swung horizontally along its flank, hoping to topple two legs at once. Unfortunately, the beast was far too large for that, and Wind stumbled back from the recoil, barely ducking under the Lynel's blade.

He longed to strike again but knew doing so without stunning the monster first would be a death sentence. However, the Skull Hammer also felt like one. It was too unwieldy. Too slow.

Changing tactics, Wind let the hammer fall from his hands and grabbed his bow. Backflipping out of range of the monster's vertical slice, Wind nocked an ice arrow, hopped to the side, and fired.

Pallid, cerulean ice immediately encased the Lynel's left leg. It roared in agitation, and Wind responded by freezing its right foreleg to the ground as well.

Circling around to its backside, Wind fired two more ice arrows, trapping the Lynel in place. He beamed. Perfect.

Praying the Queen of Fairies' magic would hold, Wind raced to reclaim his fallen sword and shield. On his way back, the Lynel let out the loudest, most intense roar thus far. It was so loud, in fact, Wind worried the others could hear it miles away at the stable.

That worry quickly fled his mind when he concentrated on the Lynel. He couldn't see the monster's face from his current position, but he certainly saw the plume of fire that enveloped the ground at its feet. Now free, the Lynel rounded on him and charged, broadsword raised.

Wind rolled under the swing, coming uncomfortably close to thundering hooves. He hopped to his feet and swiveled on his heel. No time to breathe. The Lynel was thundering towards him once more. Conscious of the fact that he'd barely made a dent in the beast, Wind held his sword out to the side as the monster flanked him, letting the Lynel's momentum do the work.

His blade split flesh for half a beat before it was wrenched from his grasp.

Stupid!

He hadn't accounted for the impact on his end. Now, he was sword-less. It was an amateur move, and Wind gritted his teeth, bringing his shield to bear as his enemy pounced.

The first blow numbed his arm. The second knocked him to his knees. The third would have cleaved him down the middle had he not rolled forward between the legs of the beast.

Wind's new position gave him a clear shot at the monster's vulnerable underbelly. If only he had his sword... Cursing his stupidity, Wind made do with a spare arrow and scrambled out from underneath the beast. He had no interest in being crushed.

The Lynel raced off not a second later, building up speed for its next assault. Wind halted it the same way he had before, an arrow to the face, followed by four ice arrows to its hooves.

Knowing that wouldn't hold it for long, Wind reclaimed his sword and rushed the monster, attacking its immobile backside so as not to put himself in danger.

Just like before, the Lynel melted the ice with a fireball. Unlike before, it didn't stop there. The Lynel whirled around, breathing fire in Wind's direction. A flash of Valoo igniting Ganondorf's lair with his own hot breath alighted in Wind's mind as he leaped to the side. Suddenly, he wished he had Quill or Komali to whisk him up and out of danger, but as he dodged another fireball, Wind dismissed the thought.

The whole point of challenging a Lynel by himself was to prove that he could do it by _himself._

And he could.

All alone.

Wind resumed his fast-paced, heart-stopping dance with the Lynel, newfound determination imbuing him with courage. Arguably, this made him more reckless, but Wind found he didn't care. Every duck, every dodge, every near miss as he weaved around the beast, hacking and slashing, felt good. All because he was doing it by himself.

Maybe it was because he was high on adrenaline, but Wind found himself getting bolder and bolder as the battle raged on. He fired an arrow into the Lynel's animalistic face and didn't bother freezing its feet in place before rushing in with sword raised. At one point, he even wove between the monster's legs while it was busy clutching its face in agony and sliced up the soft flesh of its belly. Red blood sprayed onto his clothes, so at least he knew it wasn't infected.

He fell into a pattern of sorts after a while, the massive monster's attacks becoming familiar, and thus, predictable. Wind found a counter or dodge to each one and acted accordingly. Fireball: keep running, there will be two more. Shock arrows: stay close; it won't fire as long as you're near. Rush with broadsword raised: roll underneath the swinging arm; don't mind the hoof near your ear. As it turns around for attempt two, put an arrow in its eye. Charge and slash for all you're worth. Retreat. Rise. Repeat.

Wind became so comfortable with this sequence that everything else slipped past his notice. Nothing existed except for him and the Lynel.

So at first, he thought the yell was his own, warbled by his harsh panting and the brutish grunts of the monster in front of him. But then it came again. And again. And as he backflipped out of reach of a redead-like grab with sharp edges that threatened to bury themselves in his sides, the word finally registered.

Wind.

Someone was calling him. Of course, he didn't exactly have time to check who it was. He was too busy dodging the Lynel's attacks.

An arrow that was not his own pierced the monster's left eye, and it roared, reeling back from the blow. Wind whipped his head around to identify the shooter, though he already had a sneaking suspicion of who it was. Only one of them hit the bullseye every single time.

Wild.

The champion lowered his bow, face blank of all emotion as Legend darted past him, Pegasus boots kicked into high gear.

That was a surprise. And not a good one.

Wind turned back to the monster and started swinging. Horizontal slice, vertical, diagonal. Ferocious. Familiar.

"What do you think you're doing?" Legend demanded as soon as he arrived, joining Wind's assault despite the fact that he was unwelcome.

"Go away." Neither of them should be here. He didn't need or want their help. They were ruining everything.

"And let this thing beat you to a bloody pulp?" They both hopped out of range as the Lynel recovered. "Fat chance."

Wind ground his teeth together so hard it was a wonder they didn't crack.

An arrow exploded in a shower of sparks against the Lynel's face, temporarily stunning it. Though he didn't relish in their help, Wind wasn't going to let the others steal his glory. He was killing this Lynel, one way or another.

Fury drove his sword deep into the monster's white and purple striped side again and again. Why couldn't the others buzz off? They always got the glory! Why couldn't they let him have it for once? Wind knew the answer, and it only made him flush hotter. They didn't see him as an equal. To them, he was a child, and a child could not fight a Lynel without getting "beaten to a bloody pulp" as Legend so eloquently put it.

Well, Wind would show them! Or at least, he'd like to. Unfortunately, proving self-sufficiency was impossible with Legend and Wild fighting alongside him.

The Lynel released an earth-shaking roar. Wind's ears were ringing as he watched Wild's latest arrow embed itself in the monster's forehead. The creature didn't even flinch, just continued its discordant battle cry.

"Back!" Wild called. The warning was faint due to the bell banging around his skull, but Wind still heard it. "Get back!"

Legend retreated immediately, but Wind stayed to swing his sword because he knew the Lynel would not retaliate. It was obviously building up some super move and that made it vulnerable. He would be a fool not to take advantage.

Wild screamed at him to move, but he didn't listen. This was his battle, not theirs. _Wind_ would decide when to retreat. And right now the enemy was leaving itself wide-open to attacks, and while it may not have been feeling them now, it would certainly feel them later.

Only when the Lynel flipped its weapon upside down, making to thrust it into a nonexistent pedestal, did Wind turn on his heel. He ran, pumping his legs with as much energy as he could muster, while the distant shouts of his unwanted companions urged him to go faster.

Wind thought their worry misplaced. At most, the shock wave would throw him forward. That wasn't such a threat. He'd been tossed across the ocean on multiple occasions and been perfectly fine, save for a broken nose and some bruises. He would be fine being hit with this shock wave, too.

Except it wasn't _just_ a shock wave.

It was an explosion.

Heat seared his back, and Wind was launched into the air for the second time that night. Only this time, he didn't have magic armor to cushion his fall.

A resounding crack and a pop announced his arrival on solid ground. He tumbled a few times bumping and banging over grassy terrain until he lost momentum and lay still.

Agony raced up his leg. His spine. His ribs. Stabbed the backs of his eyes and squeezed his brain. A faint, keening wail cuffed his ears, but Wind didn't bother puzzling out where it was coming from. The excruciating pain stabbing into every pore was a much more pressing matter, and his current position wasn't helping one bit. He shifted, and black dropped like a curtain over his vision. It lifted soon enough, but everything was hazy and dotted with ebony. Wind froze, then, swallowing back bile.

"Wind!" Legend skidded to a stop beside him. Wind squinted at the veteran through a haze of pain and spotty color. This was his fault. Legend didn't seem to notice. His eyes were on Wind's leg, and by the sickened look on his face, the sight wasn't pretty. "Don't move. I think your knee is dislocated."

Wind was pretty sure he meant broken, but he was in so much pain all he could do was groan.

"By the Three, Wind, you're an idiot," Legend berated, eyes skipping over every inch of his body as if to take in all his idiocy. "When you're told to move, move!"

"I…h-had it," he gasped out with difficulty. Breathing hurt. He hoped he hadn't punctured a lung.

Legend huffed. "Clearly."

"P-Potion?" Wind wheezed, hating that he needed it. He wouldn't have needed it if the others had just stayed at the stable like they were supposed to.

But Legend shook his head. "I don't have any on me, and it wouldn't do any good even if I did. Your knee needs to be put back into place first."

"Then do…d-do it," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"You don't think I would have already if I knew how?"

No, personally, Wind didn't. Legend's attitude made it obvious he was enjoying Wind's pain, enjoying the lesson it taught him: that he really was just a kid in over his head. He wasn't a hero. Not like Legend who had gone on so many adventures Wind couldn't possibly compete, and not like Wild who was currently decimating the Lynel, moving too fast for Wind to follow.

"What were you doing fighting a Lynel in the middle of the night anyway?" Legend demanded, drawing Wind's glare away from the battle. To be honest, it didn't feel much like a glare anymore. More like a cringe, but Wind hoped Legend could tell he was displeased with him anyway. "Our daily run-in with infected monsters not life-threatening enough for you?"

Talking was painful, so he didn't waste it on an explanation that Legend could never understand. Instead, he used it to demand his own answers, though demand was a loose term in the face of his strained, stuttering words. "W-Why did you…you guys fo-follow me?"

"We didn't. Both of us woke up and couldn't fall back sleep, so we were sitting outside. Lights fell from the sky. Wild thought they were star fragments and wanted to collect them. I had nothing better to do, so I followed. You're lucky we were both awake and curious. You'd be dead otherwise."

The blunt words drew a drop of water from the well in his eyes. Wind pushed aside the pain to shove Legend away from him—though it was more of a swat than a shove. He was wrong. He was wrong. He was _wrong!_ "I was doing f-f-fine until you two showed up!"

"Then why are you covered in blood?" Legend challenged. The veteran's twisted, wavering expression made it look like he wanted to shove him back, but Wind's injuries halted his hand.

"It's the monster's blood, because I was winning, m-moron!" The stutter diluted the effect of the insult, but Legend didn't even acknowledge it.

"Yeah? Well, guess what? You're not winning now, so get off your high horse and tell me what in Din's name you were thinking!"

Wind opened his mouth to retort, but the white-hot pain arching through his body stole all words. Rage could only take him so far with a dislocated knee and possibly broken ribs. He snapped his mouth shut, concentrating on what little air he could get in and out of his lungs.

"You weren't thinking, obviously," Legend spat. "Idiot." He turned his displeased expression toward the ongoing fight, arms crossed. Not a hint of worry for Wild showed in his posture. Anyone else might have identified it as lack of care, but Wind knew better. Legend cared; he just wasn't worried because the Hero of the Wild was a champion. He proved his expertise with each flurry rush, with every hail of arrows fired lightning fast from his bow, with every successful mounting and subsequent beating of the beast.

It wasn't long before the Lynel keeled over, and Wild set about collecting Wind's fallen weapons and claiming his spoils. His. Not Wind's. A little voice whispered that they should have been his. He had worked hard for them. All Wild had done was swoop in at the last second and steal his kill. That didn't take skill.

Even as he thought it, Wind knew it wasn't true. Not after watching Wild fight. The Lynel had been nowhere close to dead when Wind had been incapacitated. The amount of arrows and weapons the scarred hero broke whittling down the monster's health proved that. Wild had more than earned the victory and all the awards that came with it, but _by the gods_ , Wind wanted to earn it, too.

He directed his stinging eyes to the blurry stars as Wild jogged over. He would _not_ cry. But wetness already traced a sticky trail towards his left ear. Wind squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the others wouldn't notice.

"Get War and 'Rule over here," Legend ordered. "Now."

Wild didn't speak, but Wind heard his sharp intake of breath and the pounding, rhythmic footsteps as he left.

Wind wanted to say he didn't need them. That he would fix his leg by himself, but one glance at the misshapen appendage made his head spin and his stomach churn. He wrenched his gaze away, breaths coming short and fast. He couldn't do it. He was too weak.

Tears streaked down his face faster and faster, the pain intensifying with each passing second. Adrenaline was a master illusionist, waving its hand over hurt and rendering it virtually nonexistent. However, now that the adrenaline was fading, Wind became all too aware of the burns on his back and the stinging laceration on his left cheek that he didn't recall getting.

Legend, awkwardly, as if the gesture was foreign to him, took Wind's hand. The veteran wasn't the cuddly, coddling type, and it showed in his touch, flighty and hesitant.

"The others will be here soon," Legend murmured, eyes focused somewhere in the distance.

"'m fine," Wind said, voice hitching and breaking in all the wrong places. But he spoke. Which meant he was okay. He was okay.

The veteran scoffed.

They left it at that. No argument. No yelling. Nothing but Wind's shaky breathing and the occasional sniffle to break the silence.

By the time Wild returned with the two group medics in tow, Wind had managed to calm himself down. At least, that's what he would have liked to say. In reality, the fire spanning his back and ribs, coupled with the knives digging into every nerve-ending in his knee had dissolved him into a sobbing, trembling mess.

"Great Three, Legend!" Warrior exclaimed as he shot past Wild to kneel at Wind's side. He immediately set to gingerly stroking Wind's sweat-soaked bangs out of his damp face. "Ever heard of comfort?" Warrior must not have noticed Legend's hand in his. Wind didn't blame him. He barely noticed Legend's fingers entangled in his until they left.

"I have little sympathy for people that get hurt being stupid," Legend returned, voice even and unfeeling. "Besides whatever I say or do isn't going to take his pain away, so I suggest you two get to work." That said, Legend rose and stomped off. The others didn't protest against the action, crowding around Wind to offer healing and reassurance. But Wind, silly as it sounded, longed for Legend's hand back in his. Without it, a chill nibbled at his fingers.

"What hurts, bud? Just your leg?" Warrior's voice pulled his attention back to the pain.

"M-my back an—" Wind sucked in an uncooperative breath. It got trapped somewhere in his upper chest, and that's when Wind abandoned speaking altogether. He gestured weakly to his midsection.

"Your stomach?" Warrior guessed.

He went to shake his head, but the motion nearly made him faint, so he forced the word out. "Nnn-no."

"Ribs?"

"Mmmhm," he confirmed.

"Okay, lay still. We're going to make it better." With that, Warrior and Hyrule set to work.

As 'Rule soothed first his bruised ribs, then the burns on his back with magic, and Warrior examined his leg, Wild told him about the time he'd broken his leg and arm fighting a Hinox, heedless of the fact that Wind had no idea what a Hinox was. He described the pain—like Wind wasn't well-acquainted with it already—and explained how a traveler had found him, and he thought they were a Yiga at first so blah blah blah, something about bananas, blah blah blah. The story probably had a point about how what didn't kill you made you stronger or something equally uplifting and untrue, but the way Wild told it, the point never came. Instead, the champion rattled off on a tangent, probably hoping to distract Wind. It kind of worked, but Hyrule's magic was far more effective at easing the tension from his battered body.

When 'Rule removed his hands from Wind's spine, he was still sore, but he didn't feel like he was dying anymore. Air could enter his lungs without too much effort. The reprieve, however, didn't last long.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Wind cried, reaching for Warrior's hands to still them. Moving his leg was the worst thing he could have done, and Wind wasn't about to let him do it again.

The war-seasoned hero captured Wind's hands between his. "I know it hurts, Sailor, but I need to straighten it to fix it."

Any ounce of courage he may have possessed puffed into smoke on the wind, clogging his lungs and making each inhale incomplete. Wind shook his head vehemently. The pain was making him light-headed. Any more and he would pass out. He didn't want to pass out. Not in front of the others.

"Are…are you sure it's not broken?" Warrior wouldn't dare move his leg if it was broken, would he?

"I don't know," Warrior admitted, "but I can tell it's dislocated, and right now that's what I have to address. I'm not going to lie and say putting it back in place won't hurt. It will. But it will also feel worlds better when it's back where it's supposed to be." The captain squeezed his hands. "Trust me."

Wind did, but he was scared. Scared of the pain. Scared that he'd faint. Scared that Warrior wouldn't be able to manipulate it back into place. Scared that he'd be crippled and pitied forever. Scared that he'd never get to protect those he cared about ever again.

The possibility terrified a shaky nod from him.

"Yeah?"

He nodded again, with more conviction this time.

"Good boy," Warrior commended as he released Wind's hands. Boy, not man.

But Wind didn't have time to wallow over word choice. His attention was swiftly stolen by the wadded up handkerchief Warrior instructed him to stuff into his mouth so he didn't bite a hole through his tongue—a reassuring thought, really. Sensing his trepidation, Wild and 'Rule each grabbed one of his hands. As Warrior instructed him to breathe and forced his right leg straight, Wind discovered the hand-holding wasn't only to support him through the pain. It also played the very important role of keeping him still.

No matter how much instinct strained to slingshot his hands forward and stop the monster mutilating his leg, his hands remained at his sides, squeezed so tightly by Wild and 'Rule they cut off his circulation. Or maybe that was him, crushing their hands. He really couldn't tell.

A whimper escaped as Warrior prodded his knee. Then a muffled scream when he jerked it into a more natural position. Black encroached on the edges of his vision, and Wind was certain he was going to faint, or puke, or maybe both, but then a sharp pop met his ears, and he felt the bone click into place. Relief washed over him like a wave, loosening his tense muscles and forcing out the air he'd unconsciously been holding between his cheeks. A dull ache throbbed in his leg in memory of the agony he had been prisoner to moments before. He let his eyes flutter shut to bask in the pleasant sensation, laying his suddenly heavy head on 'Rule's shoulder.

"It's in," Warrior announced with a relieved sigh of his own. He patted Wind's uninjured leg, and the sailor opened his eyes. "Good job."

Wind didn't understand why he was praising him. He hadn't done anything other than scream and cry.

Slipping a hand free, Wind removed the cloth from his mouth. His tongue was intact, cottony with bits of fuzz, but intact. However, when Warrior asked how he felt, he didn't know what to say.

"Better?" Wild suggested hopefully, hand resting gently on Wind's shoulder.

Wind hummed. The pain was gone, but that only made it easier for the rage from earlier to swarm him, buzzing through his bones and making every touch feel statically charged. He straightened, shrugging off Wild's palm and shaking his other hand out of Hyrule's. He didn't need to be babied. He was fine. Wind swiped the remnants of tears from his cheeks. He was _fine._

But still rather sore, and Hyrule noticed, offering him a red potion. Wind downed it reluctantly.

As Warrior asked him follow-up questions about his condition, Wind kept his answers short and clipped. Can you move your foot? Yes. Does this hurt? No. Can you feel this? Yes. And on and on until Warrior was satisfied.

Wind tolerated the entire process, but when the captain made to pick him up, Wind drew the line. "I can walk."

He pushed into his left heel and made to stand, favoring his still tender right leg, but Warrior stopped him, pressing him back into a seat. "You shouldn't. I want to splint that leg when we get back. You might have a fracture."

So saying, Warrior wound his scarf around Wind, securing him in a rather comfy cocoon. He slid a hand underneath his knees and back, lifting Wind up to cradle him carefully to his chest.

Wind couldn't help but feel like a swaddled baby and announced his displeasure by squirming.

"Is this position hurting you?" Warrior worried.

It was hurting his _pride_ but physically… "No."

"Then stay still, please."

"I want to walk."

The captain sighed. "I just explained to you why that's not a good idea."

"I don't care! Put me down!" Wind wriggled an arm free and used it to push away from Warrior. Unfortunately, the captain wasn't deterred so easily. He tightened his grip, adjusting Wind more securely in his arms.

"What has gotten into you, Sailor? Relax! You're going to hurt yourself worse."

"No, I won't," he refuted, continuing to fight. "Let go!"

"Wind, no."

"Yes!"

"This isn't a discussion. I'm carrying you." Warrior hefted him higher in his arms and no amount of pushing or shoving would budge him on the matter. "If you're so eager to talk, why don't you tell me how you managed to do this?"

The suggestion rendered him mute. If he revealed that he had been fighting a Lynel, the captain would yell at him the same way Legend had. Call him stupid. As if he didn't already know that.

His plan to keep his monster-slaying escapade a secret was promptly foiled by Wild. "He was fighting a Lynel, and didn't retreat when I told him to."

"You took him Lynel hunting in the middle of the night?!" Warrior demanded, livid.

"No!" Wild waved his hands in the air frantically to fend off the accusation. "Legend and I found him fighting it by himself."

Warrior's ire fell onto Wind with the full force of a gale. "What in Hylia's name, Wind?!"

"You fought a Lynel by yourself?" 'Rule exclaimed, eyes blown wide with shock. "W-why would you do that? Didn't you hear me, Legend, and Wild talking about how dangerous they were at dinner?"

"I heard."

"Then why would you challenge one?!"

Wind didn't bother answering. The truth would only get his ear yelled off more. Therefore, Wind kept his gaze fixed on his lap, biting his lip and fighting off angry tears. The others wouldn't understand. They didn't have anything to prove.

"Look, I get it," Warrior said after a full minute of trekking in silence. "You're young. You think you're invincible, but believe me, you're _not_."

Wind barely contained a laugh. Not once in his life did he think he was invincible. Quite the opposite, really. Every moment of danger, every nightmare, every flashback, every flaw, every wave crashing on a shore reminded Wind of his mortality.

Warrior most certainly did not "get it" but correcting him wouldn't benefit Wind, so he remained silent and played the scolded child as was expected. It wasn't like he could do anything else. Screaming that Warrior was wrong, that they all were, would only make him sound like a brat. No matter how he reacted, he was a kid, so Wind fumed quietly as Warrior carried him back to the stable.

They never reached it. As soon as they stepped onto the road proper, the other heroes swarmed them.

"Thank Hylia!" Sky breathed, cupping Wind's face between ice-cold palms. The unexpected contact shocked a gasp from his lips. "Are you okay? Is that your blood? How's your leg?"

"Don't worry, 'Rule and I fixed him up. His leg should be fine," Warrior answered for him, allowing Wind to jerk his face out of the fretting Skyloftian's grasp. "I'm going to splint it to be safe. We should probably have a fairy work her magic on him, too, so check your bags."

As the others rummaged around their equipment for a bottled fairy, Wind tried to determine how they all knew to meet them. Wild had been rather quick in grabbing Warrior and Hyrule, so he couldn't imagine the champion woke everyone. If he had, they probably would have all followed him to tend to Wind, healers or not.

Because that hadn't happened, Wind suspected this gathering was a more recent development. He thought he knew who was responsible for it, too.

Legend hadn't walked back with them. He had disappeared around the same time Wild and the rest arrived. Yet, the veteran was here now, towards the back of the group, casually sorting through his supplies. Wind glared at him. He could only imagine what the hot-headed hero had told the others. Whatever it was, it was likely to get Wind chewed out, and he was right.

When the search for a fairy came up empty, Wild volunteered to grab one from a fairy fountain. As the champion disintegrated in wisps of blue, the rest of the Links turned much less kind gazes on Wind. Cowardice made him wish to disappear like Wild, but that wasn't an option, so he sat as tall as he could where Warrior had set him down and held his chin high, defiant, and he hoped, somewhat courageous.

"How stupid are you?"

"What on _Din's red earth_ possessed you to fight a Lynel by yourself?!"

"If a monster needs to be dealt with, you don't do it alone!"

"Do you not realize you could have died? What would we have told your grandmother? You're sister? Tetra?"

And worst of all, "I expected better from you." The Hero of Time's cold tone and disapproving gaze stabbed jagged icicles into Wind's heart. He felt so small under that one-eyed stare, he couldn't help cowering. Time was a statue. A colossal figure of rigid stone he would forever be in the shadow of.

"Well?" Legend demanded after a few more minutes of yelling. It was a good thing they weren't at the stable. They would only get kicked out and that would be Wind's fault too. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Wind's eyes burned as he raised them to meet Legend's. "I'm a hero too." He meant it to sound fierce, certain, confident, but it came out more like a whine.

Legend tossed his hands in the air. "Of course you are!" The furious agreement gave Wind pause. Legend recognized him as a hero? "But tonight you were just stupid, and I want to know why!"

"I don't have to explain anything to you." That's what Wind wanted to say. It was an adult answer, made even more adult by the calm, even tone with which he would deliver it. But Wind wasn't an adult. He wasn't calm. He was a mess of emotion, a typhoon, swirling and swirling and throwing wind and water every which way, and though he tried to contain it, he couldn't. The eye of a storm never lasted long.

And so the words burst out of him like a flurry of bubbles stolen from burning lungs. "Because I'm not like you! I'm not a hero. I'm not brave or good at swordplay or walking long distances. I'm not strong like Twilight or smart like Four. I'm stupid. I'm _so_ stupid! I don't know that oceans are supposed to have fish or what plants are poisonous or what animals will hurt me and which ones won't. I can't even tell the difference between them and monsters sometimes! I…I don't know anything." He was sobbing now, but Wind found he couldn't stop. He wasn't a boy, but a mountain of water rushing and rushing, the force of the rapids shaking the shell that was his body and shoving out words so fast he could hardly process them before they left his mouth.

"I try to learn to be like all of you, but I can't. I _can't,_ so I slow you down and make everything worse because I'm just a dumb kid! I'll _always_ be a dumb kid a-and I guess I'm stupid for wanting to be more than that, but—but I can't _help_ it."

Salty tears stoppered his throat like a cork in a bottle. Wind couldn't make out the others' expressions through his water-logged vision, but he was certain they were dropping their masks of ignorance to regard him with scorn, because how dare he sully the hero's name? How dare he wait so long to admit it! To insert himself into their party and pretend to be one of them.

He knew crying made him look even weaker, but he couldn't control the self-loathing tearing him apart inside. It didn't matter anyway. They all knew he was their weakest link. A kink in the chain. An imperfection. A mistake.

Wind continued to sob as a blurry blob separated itself from the rest and approached. He braced himself to be shaken back to his senses, to be scolded for crying with a strict order to get a hold of himself because this wasn't how heroes acted, and if he was so invested in acting like one he should at least have the decency to do it right.

So he was surprised when the mystery person enveloped him in a gentle hug. The figure smelled like the air before rain and something cloyingly sweet that tickled his nose. Sky.

"Oh, Wind, no. None of that's true."

"Ye-yes it is!" he sobbed. Sky's kindness was to be expected. Wind was a kid and a crying one at that. Everyone knew you hugged crying kids to pacify them. "You all just called me stupid."

Sky drew him closer, and Wind pressed his face into the man's shoulder, seeking comfort even though he didn't deserve it.

"That was only because you put yourself in danger for seemingly no reason, and we were worried." Four's voice, reasonable as always, drifted into his ears. The smithy's arms soon joined Sky's, wrapping securely around Wind. "But now we know why, and while I think what you did was reckless, I don't think you're stupid. You're smart."

Wind shook his head. "I ca-can't talk Minish like you."

Someone began to run their fingers through his hair while another rubbed an open palm up and down his spine. "That's only because you haven't eaten a jabber nut."

"But you haven't eaten a…a-and _you_ can—!" His voice failed, stolen by sorrow.

"Whoa, where'd you get that idea?" The question encouraged Wind to peek over at the smallest hero. Darkness masked his usually bright colors. He could only see a hint of blue and green in the silvery light provided by the moon and the few lanterns the group held. "Of course I did! Have you heard the Minish speak? How could I possibly replicate those sounds without help?"

Wind sniffed. "P-Practice?"

Four laughed a little. "No. I didn't have time for that on my first adventure. I needed to understand the Minish sooner rather than later, so I ate a magic nut. I've been able to understand and converse with them ever since. Hopefully, I can get my hands on a jabber nut for you next time we land in my Hyrule. Until then, please don't beat yourself up about not being able to understand the Minish, okay? Nothing is wrong with you."

Wind wanted to ask Four how he knew, but the words stuck to the roof of his mouth like taffy, so he just nodded. The smithy embraced him harder than should be possible for one with such a minuscule frame.

"I don't know much about animals, either," Sky offered. "Just birds. Mostly the giant kind."

Wind harbored a special hatred for giant birds, but saying so would only disappoint Sky, and he'd already disappointed the Hero of Time. He didn't want the Chosen Hero, the first hero of them all, to be ashamed of him too, so he melted further into the group hug, hoping the arms would bury him like the sea had buried Hyrule.

"None of us think you're a dumb kid, Wind," Twilight piped up. "You're so much more than that. You're amazing. Definitely one of the toughest people I know."

"But you still think I'm a kid," Wind objected, Twi's empty complements rolling off his back like water.

"Well—"

"Don't lie to make me feel better," Wind snapped, lifting his face to throw his discontent in the ranch hand's direction. "You _always_ call me kid."

"Yeah but—that's not—it's—" Twilight cut himself off with a sigh. "I don't call you 'kid' because I think you're a kid."

"Then why?"

After a brief internal struggle, Twilight said, "It's a term of endearment, like how I call Wild 'cub' sometimes."

Wind's distrust must have shown on his too-expressive face for Twilight hastily continued. "I'm so sorry if me calling you 'kid' hurts you. I didn't mean for it to, but now that I know, I'll stop. I won't call you kid anymore."

"I don't say it as much, but I know I have said it. I'll stop too," Warrior pledged. "From now on it's either Sailor or Wind. Sound good to you?"

"I guess," he mumbled, eyes downcast.

"No, no, no, a guess isn't good enough," Warrior objected, crouching so he could look Wind in the eye. He didn't know why the captain bothered. Wind couldn't see anything more than dark shapes and smears of orange lantern-light through his tears. "Tell me if something's not cool with you, and I'll do my best to change it. Now, I'll ask again, does being called Wind or Sailor upset you?"

"No." He liked those names. They encompassed who he was: The Waker of Winds. A sailor of the seas.

"Good, that's settled, then."

The way Warrior said it made everything seem like it was resolved, but it wasn't. Time knew as much.

"Wind, I'm going to make this clear. I don't approve of what you did tonight. It was reckless and foolhardy, and I don't condone throwing yourself into danger to prove a point." The words wound between his ribs and squeezed, constricting. Suffocating. He almost burst into full, ugly tears again but stifled the urge by biting down hard on his bottom lip. Being scolded, even if it was by his hero, was no reason to cry.

"However," Time continued, "I can see now that you thought you had to prove your worth to us, and let me be the first to say: you don't."

"Then why do you always take hits for me in battle?" The words escaped without his consent, but now that they were out Wind didn't see any reason to hold back. He cast his watery gaze around the group. "You all do it. You protect me like I can't protect myself. Like I've never fought a monster before and won, but I have! I've fought so many, and I've done it all alone."

"We know that," Twi said softly, voice barely louder than a whisper. The gentle tone was probably meant to be placating, but it only made Wind angrier.

"Then why do you do it?!"

"Because we care about you, idiot." Legend hadn't spoken for so long Wind had almost forgotten he was there. He gaped at the blue-capped hero, somehow not able to believe the caring part.

"Idiot is Legend's term of endearment. Believe me, I get it a lot." 'Rule shot him a toothy grin. "What he said is true, though. We protect you because we care, not because we don't think you can't handle yourself. None of us want to see you hurt."

"I don't want to see any of you hurt either," Wind returned morosely, clutching at the sailcloth Sky had wrapped around his shoulders. "I especially don't want to be the reason you're hurt."

"That's fair," Time said. "We all feel exactly the same, and maybe we overlooked your view on the matter. I, for one, can be very one-track minded. Even so, that's no excuse, and I apologize."

A chorus of "me too's" and "sorry's" filled the air. Oddly enough, they didn't make him feel much better. Time must have noticed, for he said, "Wind, you're a capable young man. I recognize your strength and courage even if it doesn't always seem that way. More than anyone, I understand what it's like to not be taken seriously because of something as silly as age."

"It's not just that," Wind said.

"What is it, then?"

"I'm not…" He drew in a deep breath to steady himself. It didn't work. "I'm not a hero like you."

"Wind, that is _not_ true!" Sky's declaration boomed like thunder. It was such a sharp contradiction to the way he normally spoke that Wind jumped. "You saved the world, and the people you love just like us. If that doesn't make you a hero, I don't know what does."

"But I wasn't chosen." Wind had never questioned the validity of his hero title prior to meeting the other heroes. The King of Red Lions had chosen him because he'd sensed his potential. Valoo, minor deity that he was, had recognized him as a hero. The Gods had even accepted him after he'd completed their dreadful tower. But ever since the other Links discussed their experiences with the Triforce one dreary night, Wind realized he couldn't relate. Most had only a piece, Courage, while others had been gifted with the entirety of the golden power once upon a time. Twi even admitted to being _born_ with the mark of Courage. Wind, on the other hand, had been forced to gather the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Courage. If he was truly chosen, then why hadn't the goddesses blessed him like they had the others?

"Wasn't— _Wind._ " He flinched at the exasperated tone Sky used. "You are one of us. You have the hero's spirit. Fi wouldn't have recognized you otherwise."

Wind knew Sky had faith in the spirit of the Master Sword, but he had never met her. He couldn't regard her views with the same unshakable certainty. What could an inanimate object possibly know, anyway? "She's wrong. I'm not like the rest of you."

"Why? Because you don't know some things?" Legend demanded, hand on hip. "That's a load of crap. No one knows everything."

"It's not just not knowing things," Wind protested. "It's not knowing _obvious_ things."

"Like stuff about animals?" Twilight guessed.

" _And_ plants, and where fish are supposed to live, and what pirates are supposed to be," Wind added mournfully.

"None of that means anything," Four asserted. "We're all from different points in time. Traditions change. Meanings change. Landscapes change. That's not your fault. How could you possibly know about things that don't exist where you grew up?"

Wind rubbed a damp eye. He didn't have a good answer for that.

Probably aware of this, Warrior said, "You can't, and none of us blame you for it. Would you blame me for not knowing a thing about sailing? Because I don't."

"Well…no," he admitted. Warrior's Hyrule was landlocked, as were most.

"It's the same case here," Four continued sagely. "We've all had different upbringings, and they've instilled different knowledge and skill sets in us in turn. We might all share a soul, but that doesn't mean we're the exact same person. Our experiences make us unique."

"I know that…I realize it, but…" It didn't stop him from wanting to be better. To be like…his gaze found Time's. "I'm supposed to be like you."

"Supposed to…" Time trailed off, brow furrowing. "What makes you think that? _Who_ made you think that?"

"It's just…" Wind squirmed, dropping his eyes to the dusty path. "You're the Hero of Time."

"And?" Time prompted. Wind snapped his head up, casting his gaze about for an understanding face. He didn't find one. Wind tried to not let that bother him as he explained because they did grow up differently. Maybe the others didn't know Time like he did.

"You're a legend." He told the eldest hero amongst them. "You're the reason boys on my island wear that too-hot green outfit when they turn twelve, the reason _I_ wore it. Everyone loves you and wants to be like you. I grew up wanting to be like you. But then my sister got taken, and suddenly it wasn't just a want anymore. It was a need, an expectation that followed me everywhere I went and not just one I put on myself. I met people that knew you, deities and spirits and they thought I was you at first. They wanted me to be you, but I wasn't. I'm not." He was weeping waterfalls again but not even pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes would dam the flow. "I-I tried to be. I tried so hard b-bu-but no matter what I…it just…wasn't enough."

His first attempt to rescue his sister and the other girls failed miserably and his second hadn't been much better. If not for the pirates, for Tetra, for the Rito and Valoo, his baby sister would still be locked in a cage, and he would be dead. All because he failed to realize the Blade of Evil's Bane had lost its potency. Because he rushed in without thinking, did whatever King told him to because he was too scared and scatter-brained to make his own plans. Greatfish Isle, a whole, _populated_ island was destroyed because he hadn't been fast enough. The Hero of Time would have been fast enough.

"What you did was more than enough," Time said, pulling Wind back to the present. "You saved your sister in the end, didn't you? Saved the world from Ganon's wrath?"

"Only because of a wish!" Wind cried. Had the King of Hyrule not touched the completed Triforce and demanded the gods drown Ganondorf and give Wind and Tetra a future, he was sure he wouldn't be here right now. There was no way he could ever compete with the King of Evil. He was just a boy from a tiny island on a desolate ocean. He only had the strength to stab Ganon in the head because of a divine wish. That wasn't heroic. It was dumb luck.

A sob tore from his throat, and he curled into himself, ignoring the twinge in his right knee when he lifted it. The Links surged forward, enfolding him in tender embraces, draping miscellaneous fabric over his trembling form, and burying their hands in his hair, massaging his scalp as if the action could erase all the bad thoughts. Even Wild joined in despite not knowing what was wrong as Wind gathered by the tendrils of neon blue still clinging to his clothes.

Words of comfort and reassurance spilled from his brothers' mouths, their voices overlapping and blending in places. Wind got the gist of their message nonetheless: He was brave. He was amazing. He was enough and always had been. Wind didn't have the breath to tell them that repeating those things didn't make them true.

After an eternity of drowning, a calloused hand slipped into his and pulled him to the surface. "Wind. Wind, listen to me, please."

Time waited, forever patient, as Wind gathered the courage to peer up at him from beneath his bangs. "I don't know what stories they tell of me in your time, but I can guarantee they aren't completely accurate. Trust me, I'm not someone you want to emulate."

"But I do!" Wind protested. "I want to be like you!"

"No," Time denied firmly. "You want to be like the storybook version of me, and you have to realize he doesn't exist. This perfect hero you think I am, it's a lie. I'm not perfect; none of us are. But that doesn't make us weak or wrong or any less of a hero. It makes us real. It makes us human and like any human I've made mistakes. Big ones. Life-altering, world-changing ones. And you're right. You're not like me." Wind's world shattered in a torrent of water falling down down down. But then Time squeezed his hand tighter and swiped tears off his cheek with his thumb, banishing the water, the ruin. "That's a _good_ thing, Wind. A great thing. I'm so glad you're not like me."

"For the longest time, I shut out the world and everyone in it. If not for Malon, I'd still be doing it but you…you didn't. You haven't. You've been through so much, but that doesn't stop you from wearing your heart on your sleeve. From being energetic and kind and curious and even mischievous. I admire you every moment you act your age because I was never strong enough to."

The Hero of Time, not strong enough? It was an impossible thought until Wind looked at Time. Not in the holy light of a hero, for once, but in the light of a normal man. Worn armor and an equally worn expression greeted him. He took in Time's scarred eye, his tattoos, and his good eye glistening with unshed tears. That's when Wind realized this man, the boy in those water-logged legends, had never controlled time. It had controlled him.

Time seemed to pick up on his revelation because he continued, "I want you to keep being you because you have something I never could have dreamed of. Something my disposition or hardships or a combination of both wouldn't allow for: a second chance. _Please_ don't waste it by trying to be me.

"You are yourself. You don't have to be anyone else and don't let a soul convince you otherwise. I love you just the way you are."

In all the weeks of knowing him, Time had never shown such unbridled emotion, but as Wind melted into the older man's embrace he realized that may not be entirely true. Wind had raised the hero up on such a high pedestal that he would never have noticed such a personal thing as emotion. He was glad he was noticing now. Time needed the hug just as much as he did, and Wind made sure to squeeze him back as fiercely as the man's armor would allow.

"We all love you the way you are," Sky assured Wind as he and Time parted, not even bothering to wipe their tears.

"Yeah," Legend smirked, clapping a hand on Time's armored shoulder. "One old man is enough."

"Watch it, Veteran," Time warned, but only fondness shone in his eye. "I could say the same about you."

A noise akin to a strangled rat clawed its way out of Legend's throat, startling laughter from everyone else. Even Wind found a wet laugh bubbling out of him as Time and Legend exchanged scathing insults with not a hint of malice between them.

Wind could never have defied Time in such a way, even if it was in good fun. Then again, Wind was not like Legend.

For once, the revelation did not fill him with frustration or anger or shame. Only warmth, because he was not like the others.

And that was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Remember: You are enough and always will be. <3


End file.
